Compass Minerals Reports Solid Fourth-Quarter and Full-Year Results

Compass Minerals reported reported a year-over-year increase in fourth-quarter revenue and operating earnings driven by improved Plant Nutrition South America results, which more than offset weather-driven weakness in the company’s Salt business.

Fourth-Quarter Highlights:

  • Solid demand drove year-over-year increases in revenue for Plant Nutrition business
  • Salt results pressured by a late start to winter
  • One-time tax charges reduced fourth-quarter 2017 results to a loss of $0.13 per diluted share; excluding the tax charges, earnings per diluted share were $1.66

 

Full-Year Highlights:

  • Produquímica fully integrated, contributed approximately $375 million in revenue and $49 million in operating earnings
  • Most major capital investment projects to drive long-term growth completed
  • Achieved $12 million in on-going savings from cost reduction program

 

“While this has been a challenging year for Compass Minerals, our results are demonstrating the value of our strategy to balance our winter weather exposure by growing our plant nutrition business with a strong focus on innovative specialty products,” said Fran Malecha, Compass Minerals’ president and CEO. “Further, we have completed key capital investments critical to increasing our production capabilities and efficiency, while still returning almost $100 million directly to shareholders through our dividend. I believe our actions have positioned the company for significant top and bottom line growth and improved free cash flow over the next several years.”

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