Overland Park, Kan. — Compass Minerals, which is in both the specialty fertilizer and salt business, reported that minerals sold into the deicing business were off 27 percent for the first quarter ending March 31, 2012, to 3.1 million tons from the year-ago 4.28 million tons. Highway deicing sales include all highway maintenance products sold in the U.S., Canada, and the U.K., as well as rock salt sold to the chemical industry. Compass noted that according to the U.S. National Weather Service and Environment Canada, there were 73 snow events in 11 representative cities in the company’s primary North American highway deicing service area, compared to 153 events in the same cities in the first quarter of 2011, and a 10-year average of 115.5 events. For the full winter season, which includes the calendar fourth quarter of 2011 and the calendar first quarter of 2012, there were 89 snow events in the 11 representative cities, compared to a 10-year average of 161.9 snow events in those same cities. “While there were fewer snow events in our primary service area this season than we’ve seen in at least 15 years, Compass Minerals has decades of experience managing the effects of winter weather variability on our business. However, lower demand for highway deicing salt increases the proportion of lower-value sales to chemical producers, which can have an impact on our financial results,” explained Angelo Brisimitzakis, Compass Minerals president and CEO. Compass will release its first-quarter financial results after the close of the markets April 26.
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