Penrice Soda Holdings Ltd has warned of an after-tax loss for its fiscal first half owing to an unexpected shutdown at the group’s Osborne soda ash plant in South Australia.
The group, Australia’s sole producer of soda ash and sodium bicarbonate, was expected to report end-February of an after tax loss of A$1.2m. ($1.2m.) for the six months to 31 December 2010.
The 285,000 tpa soda ash plant was forced to close in October owing to a steam supply interruption.
“The failure forced an unplanned shutdown of our chemical plant in late October, leading to extensive repair work and efficiency problems when production restarted,” said managing director and CEO, Guy Roberts.
The company’s losses coincided with a recovery in the soda ash market, the prices for which are expected to reach an all time high in 2011.
“It...