Company Narrows Full-Year Guidance

Third-Quarter Highlights:

• Salt segment posts record-setting third-quarter earnings
• Consolidated operating earnings up 3 percent
• Net income on par with 2014 adjusted results
• Margin improvement for the fifth consecutive quarter

OVERLAND PARK, Kan.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 27, 2015-- Compass Minerals (NYSE: CMP), a leading producer of essential minerals, posted solid third-quarter 2015 earnings driven by record performance in its salt segment.

“The resilience of our company was demonstrated yet again as strong commercial performance in our salt business offset softness in our plant nutrition segment stemming from weakness in the broader agricultural market,” said Fran Malecha, Compass Minerals’ president and CEO. “With a record-setting volume result in our North American highway deicing bid season, our salt business is poised to continue improving its profitability through the end of the year and into 2016. Despite near-term challenges in plant nutrition demand, premium specialty fertilizers remain a very attractive segment of the agricultural market, and we’re well-positioned to serve a condensed fall season.”

Third-quarter net income was $27.0 million, or $0.80 per diluted share. This compares to 2014 net income of $87.9 million, or $2.60 per diluted share. The 2014 result included a gain from the final insurance settlement related to a 2011 tornado that struck the company’s operations in Goderich, Ontario. Excluding this special item, net earnings in the prior-year quarter were $27.3 million, or $0.81 per diluted share.

The salt segment earned a record $45.0 million in operating earnings which was 31 percent above prior-year adjusted results. Plant nutrition segment earnings declined 54 percent.

Consolidated operating earnings increased 3 percent from prior year (excluding the tornado insurance recovery).

SALT SEGMENT

Salt segment sales rose 3 percent to $179.9 million principally due to a 7 percent year-over-year increase in sales volumes. Highway deicing sales volumes increased 11 percent as a result of normalized U.K. demand following weakness the prior year and an increase in rock salt sales to chemical customers in North America. Consumer and industrial sales volumes declined 2 percent.

The average price for highway deicing products dropped 3 percent due to an increased mix of lower-priced sales to chemical customers this year compared to 2014, while consumer and industrial pricing was similar to prior year.

Continued execution of the segment's strategy to simplify the business, improved product mix, as well as better operating rates at our U.K. mine drove significant year-over-year improvements in per-unit product costs. Profitability was further enhanced by lower fuel prices which reduced per-unit shipping and handling costs. These factors lifted salt segment EBITDA* to $56.1 million, a 22 percent increase from last year’s adjusted result of $45.8 million. The prior-year result excludes an $82.3 million gain from insurance proceeds resulting from the 2011 Goderich tornado.

PLANT NUTRITION SEGMENT

Weakness in the broader agricultural market in North America led to a 22 percent decline in plant nutrition sales volumes from 2014 results. This was partially offset by a 2 percent increase in average selling price more than explained by continued strength in sulfate of potash pricing. As a result, the plant nutrition segment generated $50.2 million in revenue, a 20 percent decline from the third quarter of 2014.

Third-quarter plant nutrition EBITDA was $16.4 million, down from $26.1 million in the year-ago period. Earnings this quarter were pressured by the lower sales volumes as well as higher production costs. This higher cost was due to the planned use of additional sourced potassium feedstock following last year’s poor solar evaporation season.

OTHER FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS

Selling, general and administrative expense held steady with prior-year results, while interest expense declined 2 percent. Additional gains from foreign exchange increased other income to $4.3 million from $3.1 million in the third quarter of 2014.

Income taxes of $12.7 million represented an effective tax rate of 32 percent. This rate increase resulted from changes in the expected jurisdictions of full-year earnings. For the full year, the company expects a tax rate of approximately 28 percent.

OUTLOOK

The company has narrowed its full-year EPS guidance to $5.20 - $5.50 from $5.10 - $5.60 per diluted share based on the following assumptions:

• Salt segment margin optimization strategies, including our highway deicing bid season results, and lower fuel costs are expected to yield an improved segment operating margin in the fourth quarter versus the prior year.
• An average winter in the company's served market is expected to increase highway deicing sales volumes above prior year levels. This expectation is a result of securing increased highway deicing commitments in North America. Average pricing for Compass Minerals awarded bids is down approximately 7 percent from 2014 results.
• Plant nutrition sales volumes are expected to improve sequentially as growers initiate fall fertilizer applications, but volumes are likely to remain below last year's result. Average selling prices for these products are expected to increase sequentially due to product sales mix changes.

Conference Call

Compass Minerals will discuss its results on a conference call tomorrow morning, Wednesday, Oct. 28, at 9:00 a.m. ET. To access the conference call, interested parties should visit the company’s website at www.CompassMinerals.com or dial 877-614-0009. Callers must provide the conference ID number 1143303. Outside of the U.S. and Canada, callers may dial 913-643-4075. The replay can also be accessed by phone for seven days at 888-203-1112, conference ID 1143303 Outside of the U.S. and Canada, callers may dial 719-457-0820.

An updated summary of the company’s performance is included in a presentation available on the company’s website at www.compassminerals.com.

About Compass Minerals

Compass Minerals is a leading provider of essential minerals that solve nature’s challenges, including salt for winter roadway safety and other consumer, industrial and agricultural uses, and specialty plant nutrition minerals that improve the quality and yield of crops. Named one of Forbes’ 100 Most Trustworthy Companies in America in 2015, Compass Minerals’ mission is to be the best essential minerals company by delivering where and when it matters. The company produces its minerals at locations throughout the U.S. and Canada and in the U.K. For more information about Compass Minerals and its products, please visit www.compassminerals.com.

Non-GAAP Measures

Management uses a variety of measures to evaluate the company’s and its operating segments’ performance. While the consolidated financial statements provide an understanding of the company’s overall results of operations, financial condition and cash flows, management analyzes components of the consolidated financial statements to identify certain trends and evaluate specific performance areas. In addition to using U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) financial measures, management uses EBITDA and EBITDA adjusted for items which management believes are not indicative of the company’s ongoing operating performance (“Adjusted EBITDA”), both non-GAAP financial measures, to evaluate the operating performance of the company’s core business operations because its resource allocation, financing methods and cost of capital, and income tax positions are managed at a corporate level, apart from the activities of the operating segments, and the operating facilities are located in different taxing jurisdictions, which can cause considerable variation in net income. The company also uses EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA to assess its overall and operating segment operating performance and return on capital against other companies, and to evaluate potential acquisitions or other capital projects. EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA are not calculated under GAAP and should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for net income, cash flows or other financial data prepared in accordance with GAAP or as a measure of overall profitability or liquidity. EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA exclude interest expense, income taxes and depreciation and amortization, each of which is an essential element of the company’s cost structure and cannot be eliminated. Consequently, any measure that excludes these elements has material limitations. While EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA are frequently used as measures of operating performance, these terms are not necessarily comparable to similarly titled measures of other companies due to the potential inconsistencies in the method of calculation. The calculation of EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA as used by management is set forth in the following table.

This press release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. We use words such as “may,” “would,” “could,” “should,” “will,” “likely,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “intend,” “plan,” “forecast,” “outlook,” “project,” “estimate” and similar expressions suggesting future outcomes or events to identify forward-looking statements or forward-looking information. These statements are based on the company's current expectations and involve risks and uncertainties that could cause the company's actual results to differ materially. The differences could be caused by a number of factors, including weather conditions, pressure on prices and impact from competitive products, any inability by us to fund necessary capital expenditures, foreign exchange rates, and the cost and availability of transportation for the distribution of our products. For further information on these and other risks and uncertainties that may affect our business, see the “Risk Factors” sections of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2014. The company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements made in this press release to reflect future events or developments. Because it is not possible to predict or identify all such factors, this list cannot be considered a complete set of all potential risks or uncertainties.

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Source: Compass Minerals

Compass Minerals
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Director of Investor Relations
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