OVERLAND PARK, Kan.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Apr. 8, 2013--
Compass Minerals (NYSE: CMP) has published its first-quarter 2013
highway deicing sales volume and regional weather data on its website at www.compassminerals.com/marketdata.
Compass Minerals’ highway deicing sales volume, which includes all
highway maintenance products sold in the U.S., Canada and the U.K., as
well as rock salt sold to the chemical industry, totaled approximately
4.4 million tons in the three months ended March 2013 compared with
3.1 million tons in the 2012 quarter.
Eleven representative cities in the company’s primary North American
highway deicing service area reported a total of 108 snow events during
the period, rebounding from the historically low number of 73 events in
the same cities in the first quarter of 2012, but below the 10-year
average of 113.7 events. For the full winter season, which includes the
calendar fourth quarter of 2012 and the calendar first quarter of 2013,
there were 144 snow events in the 11 representative cities, compared to
89 in the 2011-2012 winter and to the 10-year average of 159.8 snow
events in those same cities.
“The return of more typical winter weather in North America combined
with persistent low temperatures in the UK boosted highway deicing sales
volume above our previous forecast and well above the sales volume we
reported in the first quarter of 2012,” explained Compass Minerals CEO
and president, Fran Malecha. “Because consumer and commercial deicing
customers typically place their orders early in the season, these recent
weather events had less of an influence on our first-quarter consumer
and industrial sales results, which are in line with our prior guidance
of 530,000 tons.”
The number of snow events reported may not directly correlate to Compass
Minerals’ deicing results due to a variety of factors. The weather data
is provided without adjustments to reflect the relative significance to
the company of the cities represented. It should be used only as an
indicator of the year-to-year variations in winter weather conditions in
these regions. Compass Minerals obtains its weather data from the U.S.
National Weather Service; AccuWeather, Inc. and Environment Canada
without weighting or other adjustments.
About Compass Minerals
Based in the Kansas City metropolitan area, Compass Minerals is a
leading producer of minerals, including salt, sulfate of potash
specialty fertilizer and magnesium chloride. The company provides
highway deicing salt to customers in North America and the United
Kingdom and specialty fertilizer to growers worldwide. Compass Minerals
also produces consumer deicing and water conditioning products,
ingredients used in consumer and commercial foods, and other
mineral-based products for consumer, agricultural and industrial
applications. Compass Minerals also provides records management services
to businesses throughout the U.K. For more information, visit www.compassminerals.com
Source: Compass Minerals
Compass Minerals
Theresa Womble, 913-344-9362
Manager
of Investor Relations