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Report No. : |
306051 |
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Report Date : |
06.02.2015 |
IDENTIFICATION DETAILS
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Name : |
ASHLAND INC. |
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Registered Office : |
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Country : |
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Year of Establishments : |
1924 |
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Legal Form : |
Corporation – Profit |
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Line of Business : |
· Subject operates as a Specialty Chemicals Company Subject operates
through Specialty
Ingredients Segment & Valvoline
Segment Specialty Ingredients
Segment Subject provides products, technologies, and resources for solving
formulation and product-performance challenges. Valvoline
Segment Subject produces and distributes automotive, commercial, and industrial lubricants, automotive chemicals, and car-care products |
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No of Employees : |
11,000 |
RATING & COMMENTS
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MIRA’s Rating : |
Ba |
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RATING |
STATUS |
PROPOSED CREDIT LINE |
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41-55 |
Ba |
Overall operation is considered normal. Capable to meet normal
commitments. |
Satisfactory |
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Status : |
Satisfactory |
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Payment Behaviour : |
Slow but Correct |
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Litigation : |
Exists |
NOTES :
Any query related to this report can be made
on e-mail : infodept@mirainform.com
while quoting report number, name and date.
ECGC Country Risk Classification List – December 31, 2014
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Country Name |
Previous Rating (30.09.2014) |
Current Rating (31.12.2014) |
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United States |
A1 |
A1 |
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Risk Category |
ECGC
Classification |
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Insignificant |
A1 |
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Low |
A2 |
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Moderate |
B1 |
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High |
B2 |
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Very High |
C1 |
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Restricted |
C2 |
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Off-credit |
D |
United States ECONOMIC OVERVIEW
The US has the largest and most
technologically powerful economy in the world, with a per capita GDP of
$49,800. In this market-oriented economy, private individuals and business
firms make most of the decisions, and the federal and state governments buy
needed goods and services predominantly in the private marketplace. US business
firms enjoy greater flexibility than their counterparts in Western Europe and
Japan in decisions to expand capital plant, to lay off surplus workers, and to
develop new products. At the same time, they face higher barriers to enter
their rivals' home markets than foreign firms face entering US markets. US
firms are at or near the forefront in technological advances, especially in computers
and in medical, aerospace, and military equipment; their advantage has narrowed
since the end of World War II. The onrush of technology largely explains the
gradual development of a "two-tier labor market" in which those at
the bottom lack the education and the professional/technical skills of those at
the top and, more and more, fail to get comparable pay raises, health insurance
coverage, and other benefits. Since 1975, practically all the gains in
household income have gone to the top 20% of households. Since 1996, dividends
and capital gains have grown faster than wages or any other category of
after-tax income. Imported oil accounts for nearly 55% of US consumption. Crude
oil prices doubled between 2001 and 2006, the year home prices peaked; higher
gasoline prices ate into consumers' budgets and many individuals fell behind in
their mortgage payments. Oil prices climbed another 50% between 2006 and 2008,
and bank foreclosures more than doubled in the same period. Besides dampening
the housing market, soaring oil prices caused a drop in the value of the dollar
and a deterioration in the US merchandise trade deficit, which peaked at $840
billion in 2008. The sub-prime mortgage crisis, falling home prices, investment
bank failures, tight credit, and the global economic downturn pushed the United
States into a recession by mid-2008. GDP contracted until the third quarter of
2009, making this the deepest and longest downturn since the Great Depression.
To help stabilize financial markets, in October 2008 the US Congress
established a $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). The government
used some of these funds to purchase equity in US banks and industrial
corporations, much of which had been returned to the government by early 2011.
In January 2009 the US Congress passed and President Barack OBAMA signed a bill
providing an additional $787 billion fiscal stimulus to be used over 10 years -
two-thirds on additional spending and one-third on tax cuts - to create jobs
and to help the economy recover. In 2010 and 2011, the federal budget deficit
reached nearly 9% of GDP. In 2012 the federal government reduced the growth of
spending and the deficit shrank to 7.6% of GDP. Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan
required major shifts in national resources from civilian to military purposes
and contributed to the growth of the budget deficit and public debt. Through
2011, the direct costs of the wars totaled nearly $900 billion, according to US
government figures. US revenues from taxes and other sources are lower, as a
percentage of GDP, than those of most other countries. In March 2010, President
OBAMA signed into law the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, a health
insurance reform that was designed to extend coverage to an additional 32
million American citizens by 2016, through private health insurance for the
general population and Medicaid for the impoverished. Total spending on health
care - public plus private - rose from 9.0% of GDP in 1980 to 17.9% in 2010. In
July 2010, the president signed the DODD-FRANK Wall Street Reform and Consumer
Protection Act, a law designed to promote financial stability by protecting
consumers from financial abuses, ending taxpayer bailouts of financial firms,
dealing with troubled banks that are "too big to fail," and improving
accountability and transparency in the financial system - in particular, by
requiring certain financial derivatives to be traded in markets that are
subject to government regulation and oversight. In December 2012, the Federal
Reserve Board (Fed) announced plans to purchase $85 billion per month of
mortgage-backed and Treasury securities in an effort to hold down long-term
interest rates, and to keep short term rates near zero until unemployment drops
below 6.5% or inflation rises above 2.5%. In late 2013, the Fed announced that
it would begin scaling back long-term bond purchases to $75 billion per month
in January 2014 and reduce them further as conditions warranted; the Fed,
however, would keep short-term rates near zero so long as unemployment and
inflation had not crossed the previously stated thresholds. Long-term problems
include stagnation of wages for lower-income families, inadequate investment in
deteriorating infrastructure, rapidly rising medical and pension costs of an
aging population, energy shortages, and sizable current account and budget
deficits.
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Source : CIA |
Company name: ASHLAND INC.
Address:
Mailing address: PO Box 391,
Covington, KY 41012 – USA
Telephone: +1
859-815-3333
Fax: +1 859-815-3559
Website: www.ashland.com
Corporate ID#: 0580261
State: Kentucky
Judicial form: Corporation – Profit
Date incorporated: 03-15-2004
Date founded: 1924
Stock: 200,000,000
shares common
30,000,000 shares preferred
Value: USD
0.01=
Name of manager: William
A. WULFSOHN
Business:
Ashland Inc. operates as a specialty chemicals company worldwide.
The company’s Specialty Ingredients segment provides products,
technologies, and resources for solving formulation and product-performance
challenges.
It offers solutions using natural, synthetic, and semisynthetic polymers
derived from plant and seed extract, cellulose ethers, and vinyl pyrrolidones,
as well as acrylic and polyurethane-based adhesives for consumer and industrial
applications.
This segment serves pharmaceutical companies; makers of personal and
home care products, food, and beverages; manufacturers of paint, coatings, and
construction materials; packaging and converting markets; and oilfield service
companies.
Its Performance Materials offers composites, intermediates and solvents,
and elastomers, including polyester and vinyl ester resins, as well as
gelcoats, maleic anhydride, butanediol, tetrahydrofuran, n-methylpyrolidone,
emulsion styrene butadiene rubber, and other intermediates and solvents. This
segment serves manufacturers of residential and commercial building products;
infrastructure engineers; wind blade and pipe manufacturers; auto, truck, and
tire makers; boat builders; adhesives, engineered plastics, and electronic producers;
and specialty chemical manufacturers.
The company’s Valvoline segment produces and distributes automotive,
commercial, and industrial lubricants, automotive chemicals, and car-care products.
It also markets lubricants and automotive chemicals under the Valvoline brand
name; lubricants for higher-mileage engines under the MaxLife brand name; motor
oil under the NextGen brand name; synthetic motor oil under the SynPower brand
name; automotive appearance products under the Car Brite brand name; and
antifreeze products under the Zerex brand name.
In addition, this segment operates and franchises approximately 920
Valvoline Instant Oil Change centers in the United States.
The company was founded in 1924 and is headquartered in Covington,
Kentucky.
Office of the Foreign
Assets Control (OFAC):
The company is not listed on the OFAC list.
The Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) List is a publication of OFAC
which lists individuals and organizations with whom United States citizens and
permanent residents are prohibited from doing business.
EIN: 20-0865835
Staff: 11,000
Operations & branches:
At the headquarters, we
find a factory, warehouse and office, owned.
The Company maintains several
branches in the U.S.
Shareholders:
The Company is listed with
the NYSE under symbol ASH.
As of 09-30-2014, 87% of
the stock was held by institutional and mutual funds including:
|
Jana Partners LLC |
8.49% |
|
Vanguard Group, Inc. (The) |
6.61% |
|
FMR, LLC |
6.58% |
|
State Street Corporation |
3.55% |
|
BlackRock Fund Advisors |
3.13% |
Management:
William A. WULFSOHN joined Ashland Inc. as chairman and chief executive
officer on January 1, 2015.
He replaced Jame O’BRIEN who retired.
Prior to joining Ashland, he served four years as president and CEO of
Carpenter Technology Corporation. Mr. Wulfsohn also had served on Carpenter
Technology's board since 2009. Prior to that, he served as senior vice president,
industrial coatings at PPG Industries. Before joining PPG, Mr. Wulfsohn was
vice president and general manager for Honeywell International. In addition, he
has worked for Morton International/Rohm & Haas, beginning as a director of
marketing and subsequently as vice president and business director. Mr.
Wulfsohn began his professional career with McKinsey & Company. He holds a
chemical engineering degree from the University of Michigan and a Master of
Business Administration degree from Harvard University. Mr. Wulfsohn is a
director of PolyOne Corporation.
J. Kevin WILLIS is Vice President and CFO.
Mr. Willis, 48, was elected senior vice president and chief financial
officer of Ashland in 2013. He oversees Ashland's worldwide financial
functions and processes, including financial accounting and reporting, treasury
and finance, insurance, business development, planning and analysis, investor
relations, tax and internal audit activities. A member of Ashland's Executive
Committee, he shares overall responsibility for setting Ashland's global
strategy, managing capital, and upholding Ashland's operating principles.
Subsidiaries
and Partnership:
Several subsidiaries in the U.S. and worldwide.
On attachment:
- 10K 2014 (fiscal year
ending September 2014)
- 1st 10Q
2014-2015
Banks: Citibank
US Bank
Legal filings & complaints:
State: New York
Case number: 1:10-cv-08184-SAS
Plaintiff: Kouts Town of
Defendanr: Ashland Inc et al
Shira A. Scheindlin, presiding
Date filed: 10/28/2010
Date of last filing: 10/17/2014
Cause: Product liability
Secured debts summary (UCC):
Several