Overland Park, Kan.-Citing declines in sulfate of potash sales volumes and prices, Compass Minerals saw third-quarter net earnings dip to $25.7 million ($0.77 per diluted share), compared with $28.7 million ($0.87 per diluted share) in last year’s third quarter. Sales were $182.3 million, and product sales, which exclude the cost of shipping and handling, were $141.3 million, compared with $237.4 million and $174.6 million, respectively, in the prior-year quarter. Specialty fertilizer segment sales were down 67 percent and operating earnings declined 73 percent, which the company said reflected the ongoing effects of the current economic environment on the fertilizer industry. The segment’s operating margin declined to 49 percent of sales from 58 percent of sales in the 2008 period, primarily due to a 6 percent year-over-year decline in average selling prices. Sulfate of potash prices averaged $706 per ton for the quarter, compared with $752 per ton in the prior-year third quarter and $944 per ton in the second quarter of 2009. Specialty fertilizer sales volumes declined 65 percent to 34,000 tons, down from 98,000 tons in the 2008 same quarter. Compass said the drop was consistent with a worldwide decline in fertilizer sales, and with “year-to-date declines in specialty fertilizer segment sales volumes as growers and retailers continue to postpone potash nutrient purchases.” Compass said it will be able to produce an additional 25,000 tons of SOP in 2010 from its solar evaporation ponds due to ongoing expansion and yield-improvement projects at the Great Salt Lake in Utah, bringing its pond-based production capacity to more than 300,000 tons per year. The company said it has also built a strong, low-cost inventory of SOP. As a result, Compass expects to purchase substantially less muriate of potash for the production of SOP in 2010 than it did in 2009. “Potash is an essential agricultural nutrient, and growers who forgo applications are depleting their soil,” said Angelo Brisimitzakis, president and CEO. “We are well positioned to meet the demand when specialty-crop growers resume sulfate of potash applications in order to maintain healthy soils, high-quality crops and optimal yields.” Year-to-date sales for the company totaled $650.9 million, compared with $779.4 million in 2008, while net earnings totaled $101.4 million, compared with $79.4 million in the equivalent year-ago period. The specialty fertilizer segment posted nine-month operating earnings of $63.4 million on sales of $100.5 million, compared with $81.1 million and $175.1 million, respectively, in the comparable 2008 period. Year-to-date sales volumes for the segment were 112,000 tons, compared with 332,000 tons in 2008.
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