Compass Minerals, Overland Park, Kan., reported a second-quarter 2019 net loss of $11.8 million, compared to year-ago net loss of $7.6 million. While operating earnings increased $1.3 million to $4.1 million, a year-over-year increase in non-operating costs, primarily related to foreign exchange losses and interest expense, drove the higher net loss compared to prior year.
Compass said that while the second-quarter results demonstrated ongoing improvement in its Salt business, its Plant Nutrition business delivered modest gains in operating earnings despite a challenging global agriculture market. The lingering impact of unfavorable agriculture conditions in the U.S. continued to limit Plant Nutrition North America results. In South America, demand increased across many product categories and lifted earnings ahead of prior-year results.