NEW YORK, Jan 26 (Reuters) - Specialty chemical maker Ashland Inc posted a fourth-quarter profit on Tuesday, helped by an uptick in sales and cost cuts.
The company posted net income of $86 million, or $1.10 per share, compared with a year-earlier loss of $119 million, or $1.73 per share.
Excluding one-time items, the company posted profit of 89 cents per share.
Revenue rose 2.7 percent to $2.02 billion, narrowly beating the $2.00 billion that analysts expected.
Ashland sells specialty chemicals in areas such as water purification and electronics. It also owns the Valvoline line of lubricants and retail oil-change locations.
The company bought rival Hercules Inc in November 2008.
(Reporting by Ernest Scheyder) Keywords: ASHLAND/ (ernest.scheyder@thomsonreuters.com; +1 646-223-6119; Reuters Messaging:ernest.scheyder.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
The company posted net income of $86 million, or $1.10 per share, compared with a year-earlier loss of $119 million, or $1.73 per share.
Excluding one-time items, the company posted profit of 89 cents per share.
Revenue rose 2.7 percent to $2.02 billion, narrowly beating the $2.00 billion that analysts expected.
Ashland sells specialty chemicals in areas such as water purification and electronics. It also owns the Valvoline line of lubricants and retail oil-change locations.
The company bought rival Hercules Inc in November 2008.
(Reporting by Ernest Scheyder) Keywords: ASHLAND/ (ernest.scheyder@thomsonreuters.com; +1 646-223-6119; Reuters Messaging:ernest.scheyder.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
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