Ashland Inc. Announces Webcast of Third-Quarter Earnings Presentation to Securities Analysts

COVINGTON, Ky., July 11, 2005 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX/ -- Ashland Inc. (NYSE: ASH) today announced that on Monday, July 25, at 12:45 p.m. (EDT), it will conduct a live audio webcast of its third-quarter earnings presentation to the investment community. The presentation will cover results for the quarter ended June 30, the third quarter of Ashland's 2005 fiscal year. The company's third-quarter results will be issued at 8:00 a.m. that day.

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The presentation will be hosted by James J. O'Brien, chairman and chief executive officer; J. Marvin Quin, senior vice president and chief financial officer; and Daragh L. Porter, vice president, finance, and treasurer, with responsibility for investor relations.

The webcast, which will last approximately 60 minutes, will be accessible through Ashland's Investor Relations website, www.ashland.com/investors. Following the live event, an archived version of the webcast will be available on the Ashland website for 12 months. Minimum requirements to listen to the webcast include the free Windows MediaPlayer software and a 28.8 Kbps connection to the Internet.

Ashland Inc. (NYSE: ASH) is a Fortune 500 chemical and transportation construction company providing products, services and customer solutions throughout the world. To learn more about Ashland, visit www.ashland.com.

SOURCE Ashland Inc.

Media Relations, Jim Vitak, +1-614-790-3715, or jevitak@ashland.com , or Investor
Relations, Daragh Porter, +1-859-815-3825, or dlporter@ashland.com , both of Ashland
Inc.

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"Safe Harbor" Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995:
Statements in this press release regarding Ashland's business which are not historical
facts are "forward-looking statements" that involve risks and uncertainties. For a
discussion of such risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ from
those contained in the forward-looking statements, see "Risk Factors" in the Company's
Annual Report or Form 10-K for the most recently ended fiscal year.