They're in a commodity called soda ash which has uses in mining,...

They're in a commodity called soda ash which has uses in mining, glass manufacture, sodium bicarbonate, detergents and a few other things.

With the China effect soda ash prices have been rising strongly in US dollar terms (search Google News for "soda ash prices") but most of Penrice's sales are made under long term contracts to Australian customers so very little has yet flowed through.

Since January a few new contracts have been signed, a customer has been won back, and a few contracts have been renegotiated, presumably with decent price increases (Amcor is a big one). Even given the rise in the Aussie dollar vs the US dollar, I'd be surprised if they haven't managed to increase prices on the new and renegotiated contracts by at least 10-20%, which should flow through straight to the bottom line.

If they manage it full year profit should be significantly higher than in 2007 with prospects for further strong growth (a few of the new contracts don't start delivering until after June). Given the illiquidity of the stock I'm hoping to see the shares trading over $3.00 by December.