Tue Jul 27, 2010 5:16pm EDT
* Q2 adj EPS
.51 vs est.
.42
* Q2 sales up 12 pct, above view
* Sees FY sales to exceed 300,000 tons
July 27 (Reuters) - Compass Minerals International Inc (CMP.N) reported second-quarter profit that beat market consensus, helped by stronger specialty fertilizer, higher highway de-icing sales volumes in the UK and improved salt pricing.
"Second-quarter sulfate of potash demand nearly doubled from last year's depressed volume, and we continue to expect full-year sales to exceed 300,000 tons," Chief Executive Angelo Brisimitzakis said in a statement.
For the quarter, the company which makes salt, sulfate of potash and magnesium chloride, posted net income of $11.3 million, or 34 cents a share, compared with $14.1 million, or 42 cents a share, a year earlier.
Excluding items, it earned 51 cents a share.
Revenue rose 12 percent to $179 million, driven by a 14 percent increase in salt sales and robust demand for de-icing salt in the UK, and doubling of potash sales from the year-ago quarter.
Analysts on average were expecting Compass to earn 42 cents a share, on revenue of $166.6 million, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Shares of the Kansas City-based company closed at $75.22 Tuesday on the New York Stock Exchange.