Beyond Deicing: Compass Minerals Delivers the Goods in an Increasingly Wide Variety of Ways

Compass Minerals (CMP) is, according to their website, a worldwide leader in the production and distribution of inorganic minerals. Their products include water softener salt, magnesium chloride, animal feed supplements, packaged deicers, industrial salts, road deicing, as well as sulfate of potash (a specialty fertilizer). The company, based in Kansas City, operates some of the largest and longest running salt mines in North America and the United Kingdom. Up until recently, Compass Minerals, was almost entirely dependent on its deicing businesses for the vast majority of its yearly revenues. This has begun to change, however, as sales of Sulfate of Potash have expanded greatly and accounted for 13.8% of revenues for the three months ended December 31, 2006. Moreover, the company has entered into the data storage business and has recently completed an acquisition of Interactive Records Management (A UK firm) more than doubling capacity in that very lucrative area. Other positives for shareholders of Compass Minerals are that the company is strongly committed to paying down the enormous debt it acquired as a result of being bought out by a Private Equity Firm a few years ago, as evidenced, by the recent retirement of a significant percentage of its outstanding debt. Furthermore, the company is currently yielding 3.7% in terms of its dividend. I am long on this company and believe that it will outperform the market for many years.