BALA CYNWYD, Pa., April 10, 2003 (PRIMEZONE) -- The following statement was issued today by the law firm of Schiffrin & Barroway, LLP:
Notice is hereby given that a class action lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York on behalf of all purchasers of the common stock of Core Laboratories, N.V. ("Core Laboratories" or the "Company") (NYSE:CLB) from May 6, 2002 through March 31, 2003, inclusive (the "Class Period").
If you wish to discuss this action or have any questions concerning this notice or your rights or interests with respect to these matters, please contact Schiffrin & Barroway, LLP (Marc A. Topaz, Esq. or Stuart L. Berman, Esq.) toll free at 1-888-299-7706 or 1-610-667-7706, or via e-mail at info@sbclasslaw.com.
The Complaint alleges that defendants violated Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder, by issuing a series of material misrepresentations to the market between May 6, 2002, and March 31, 2003, thereby artificially inflating the price of Core common stock. Throughout the Class Period, as alleged in the Complaint, defendants issued numerous statements and filed quarterly reports with the SEC which described the Company's increasing financial performance. The Complaint alleges that these statements were materially false and misleading because they failed to disclose and/or misrepresented the following adverse facts, among others: (i) that the Company had materially overstated its net income and earnings per share; (ii) that the Company had overstated its ability to collect on certain accounts receivable; (iii) that the Company had improperly delayed the booking of expenses and foreign exchange translation losses from certain field locations; (iv) that the Company lacked adequate internal controls and was therefore unable to ascertain the true financial condition of the Company; and (v) that as a result, the value of the Company's net income and financial results was materially overstated at all relevant times.
On March 31, 2003, after the markets had closed trading for the day, the Company shocked the market by announcing that it would be restating its financial results for prior 2002 quarterly operating results because of: (a) the issuance of duplicate invoices in the Company's Mexico operations; (b) the need for higher provisions for doubtful accounts receivables; (c) the need for timely booking of expenses and foreign exchange translation losses from certain field locations; (d) changes in the estimated life of certain assets; and (e) and consolidation costs of two Nigerian offices. Following this announcement, shares of Core common stock fell $1.31 per share, or more than 12.5%, to close at $9.09 per share, on volume of 515,300 shares traded, or almost four times the average daily volume.
Plaintiff seeks to recover damages on behalf of class members and is represented by the law firm of Schiffrin & Barroway, which prosecutes class actions in both state and federal courts throughout the country. Schiffrin & Barroway is a driving force behind corporate governance reform, and has recovered in excess of a billion dollars on behalf of institutional and high net worth individual investors. For more information about Schiffrin & Barroway, or to sign up to participate in this action online, please visit http://www.sbclasslaw.com/cgi/signup.cgi.
If you are a member of the class described above, you may, not later than June 9, 2003, move the Court to serve as lead plaintiff of the class, if you so choose. In order to serve as lead plaintiff, however, you must meet certain legal requirements.
More information on this and other class actions can be found on the Class Action Newsline at www.primezone.com/ca.