MILWAUKEE, May 28, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- Ademi & O'Reilly, LLP (http://www.ademilaw.com/cases/Corn.php) announced that it has filed a class action lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois on behalf of purchasers of Corn Products International, Inc. ("Corn Products") (NYSE:CPO) securities during the period between January 25, 2005 and April 4, 2005 (the "Class Period").
If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than July 19, 2005. If you wish to discuss this action or have any questions concerning this notice or your rights or interests, please contact Guri Ademi at 866/264-3995 or via e-mail at gademi@ademilaw.com. If you are a member of this class, you can view a copy of the complaint as filed or join this class action online at http://www.ademilaw.com/cases/Corn.pdf . Any member of the purported class may move the Court to serve as lead plaintiff through counsel of their choice, or may choose to do nothing and remain an absent class member.
The complaint charges Corn Products and certain of its officers and directors with violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Corn Products manufactures and sells starches, liquid sweeteners and other ingredients to food and industrial customers in over 60 industries around the world.
The Complaint alleges that, during the Class Period, defendants issued materially false and misleading statements concerning the Company's future prospects. Specifically, the complaint alleges that these statements were materially false and misleading because, at the time that these statements were made, defendants knew, but failed to disclose and/or misrepresented: (i) that the Company was experiencing manufacturing problems at certain of its facilities that were causing its expenses to rise dramatically above internally forecasted levels. These problems caused certain of the Company's processing facilities to close and/or slowdown production thereby raising expenses; (ii) that the Company had contracted for corn in Canada in the late Fall of 2004 at prices higher than present prevailing prices, thereby forcing the Company to purchase corn at above-market prices and further eroding the Company's profit margins. In other words, the Company's hedging strategy related to its Canadian corn purchases was then negatively impacting its financial results and would continue to do so for the next year; and (iii) given the foregoing, Defendants lacked a reasonable basis for their positive statements concerning the Company and its earnings and prospects.
On April 5, 2005, before the market opened, Corn Products issued a press release announcing that it expected first quarter earnings to decline by 35 to 40 percent from the first quarter of 2004, due primarily to the timing of corn purchases, increased expenses, and manufacturing expense problems. In response to this announcement, the price of Corn Products common stock declined precipitously, falling from $25.86 per share to $20.98 per share, on extremely heavy trading volume.
Plaintiff seeks to recover damages on behalf of all purchasers of Corn Products securities during the Class Period.