December 17, 2013
Bernstein Liebhard LLP today announced that a securities class action has been commenced in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York on behalf of purchasers (the “Class”) of common stock of Turquoise Hill Resources, Ltd. (“Turquoise Hill”) (NYSE: TRQ) during the period of May 14, 2010 and November 8, 2013 (the “Class Period”).
The complaint charges Turquoise Hill and certain of its officers and directors with violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Turquoise Hill is an international mineral exploration and development company.
The complaint alleges that during the Class Period, defendants issued materially false and misleading statements regarding Turquoise Hill’s financial performance and business prospects and overstated the Company’s reported revenue, specifically for its SouthGobi Resources Ltd. (“SouthGobi”) subsidiary, which produces coal at the Ovoot Tolgoi mine in Mongolia. As a result of defendants’ false and misleading statements, the Company’s stock traded at artificially inflated prices during the Class Period, reaching a high of $28.91 per share on February 7, 2011.
On November 8, 2013, Turquoise Hill issued a press release disclosing that the Company would be restating its consolidated financial results for the years ending December 31, 2010, 2011, 2012 and the affected quarters, including 2013, due to errors related to the timing of revenue recognition from sales to certain distributors as a result of the SouthGobi subsidiary’s decision to change the way it recognizes revenue. The Company further disclosed that some sales were booked after delivery to the customers’ stockpiles at the Ovoot Tolgoi mine instead of upon customer collection. In addition, the Company stated that the financial statements should no longer be relied upon. On this news, the Company’s stock price dropped from $4.87 per share on November 7, 2013 to close at $4.09 per share by November 14, 2013. Subsequently, on December 4, 2013, after the Company announced a rights offering which doubled the number of shares outstanding, Turquoise Hill’s stock price dropped to $3.41 per share.
Plaintiffs seek to recover damages on behalf of all Class members who invested in Turquoise Hill common stock during the Class Period. If you invested in Turquoise Hill common stock as described above, and either lost money on the transaction or still hold the security, you may wish to join in this action to serve as lead plaintiff. In order to do so, you must meet certain requirements set forth in the applicable law and file appropriate papers no later than February 11, 2014.
A “lead plaintiff” is a representative party that acts on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation. In order to be appointed lead plaintiff, the court must determine that the class member’s claim is typical of the claims of other class members, and that the class member will adequately represent the class. Under certain circumstances, one or more class members may together serve as lead plaintiff. Your ability to share in any recovery is not, however, affected by the decision whether or not to serve as a lead plaintiff. You may retain Bernstein Liebhard LLP, or other counsel of your choice, to serve as your counsel in this action.
If you are interested in discussing your rights as a Turquoise Hill shareholder and/or have information relating to the matter, please contact Joseph R. Seidman, Jr. at (877) 779-1414 or seidman@bernlieb.com.
Bernstein Liebhard LLP has pursued hundreds of securities, consumer and shareholder rights cases and recovered over $3 billion for its clients. It has been named to The National Law Journal’s “Plaintiffs’ Hot List” in each of the last ten years.
You can obtain a copy of the complaint from the clerk of the court for the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.