UPDATE 1-Penford Corp swings to Q4 loss
* Q4 loss/shr $1.87
* Q4 revenue $60 mln
Nov 13 (Reuters) - Diversified chemicals company Penford Corp (PENX.O) swung to a fourth-quarter loss, hurt by production suspension at the company's Cedar Rapids facility and higher raw material cost.
For the quarter ended Aug. 31, Penford reported a net loss of $20.9 million, compared with a profit of $4.3 million a year earlier.
The company said the Cedar river floods in June 2008 forced a shut down of production at the company's Cedar Rapids facility. Partial production was restored late August.
The company forecast direct costs of the floods to be in the range of $45 million to $47 million.
Gross margin as a percent of revenue fell due to rising raw material and transportation costs, said Penford.
Shares of the company closed at $10.75 Wednesday on Nasdaq.
For the alerts, please double click [ID:nWNAB2854] (Reporting by Arup Roychoudhury in Bangalore; Editing by Jarshad Kakkrakandy) (arup.roychoudhury@thomsonreuters.com; within U.S. +1 646 223 8780; outside U.S. +91 80 4135 5800; Reuters Messaging: arup.roychoudhury.reuters.com@reuters.net))
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