Ascent Industries (ACNT) 17th Annual Midwest IDEAS Conference summary

Leadership and Transformation

• Management team, including CEO and CFO with proven specialty chemical turnaround experience, has worked together for over a decade and joined in early 2024 to drive transformation.

• The team stabilized and restructured the business over the past 2–3 years, focusing on specialty chemicals and divesting non-core and stainless steel assets.

• 2024 was dedicated to stabilization, with 2025 focused on optimizing the portfolio and becoming a pure-play specialty chemical company.

• Leadership emphasizes outcomes, customer-centricity, and leveraging underutilized assets for growth.

• Management's strategy centers on stabilization, operational improvement, and disciplined capital allocation.

Strategic Focus and Operational Model

• Shifted from contract manufacturing (90% in 2023) to a higher mix of proprietary product sales (35% in H1 2025), aiming for more predictable, higher-margin revenue.

• Returned to specialty chemical roots, divesting non-core assets and optimizing the portfolio.

• Operates a Chemicals-as-a-Service (CaaS) model, offering formulation, manufacturing, logistics, and regulatory support.

• Focuses on high-value segments such as packaging, food service, oil & gas, agriculture, and personal care.

• Operates four manufacturing sites with significant available capacity (~45% utilization), enabling growth without major CapEx.

Financial Performance and Growth

• Achieved record revenues and adjusted EBITDA in Q2 2025, with a 9.2% revenue increase ($7M) over the past year and 167.3% TTM adjusted EBITDA growth.

• Q2 2025 revenue was approximately $30M, with 20% organic growth and the remainder from acquisitions.

• Organic growth is outpacing the specialty chemical market, supported by a strong and growing project pipeline.

• Maintains a strong balance sheet with zero debt and $33–35M in cash, including escrow.

• Reduced costs by $2.1M and repurchased 12.4% of outstanding shares since January 2025.