So here's the deal on margins as taken from the CC:
They declined to 11% in the 4Q from the 2010 average of 17% due to higher supply costs, increased sales to Europe than in the 3Q (resulting in higher transportation costs) and introductory pricing schemes for new clients used to develop "critical mass" of sales.
On the subject of corn pricing Fred said that while they do use corn starch, they use a variety of other starches as well that aren't considered "commodities". I took this to mean they're not food grade products and not as volatile.
In any event, their CFO said they are targeting margins returning to 20% or more by year end. We'll see.
On the subject of sales, while Fred wouldn't comment on the 1Q he said they're guiding $24-$32 million for the year. They've already done $4.5 million in the first 2 months...if we multiply this times 6 we get $27 million so even if they had flat sales growth the remainder of the year which would be totally at odds with what Fred's saying about growth going forward, they already have that target range in the bag. Connecting all the dots, I'd expect the upper end of that range or higher when it's all said and done. Margins remain the big question, they're going to have to come up like they're projecting to get to break-even.
Market Data 
Markets 
AI
