NEW YORK, Aug. 19, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Shareholders of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. ("Royal Caribbean" or the "Company") (NYSE:RCL) are reminded of the securities class action lawsuit filed against Royal Caribbean and certain of its officers. The class action (Civil Action No. 1:11-cv-22855) in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida is on behalf of a class consisting of all persons or entities who purchased Royal Caribbean securities from April 23, 2009 through and including July 27, 2011 (the "Class Period"). The Complaint alleges violations of Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Exchange Act, 15 U.S.C. Sections 78j(b) and 78t(a); and SEC Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder by the SEC, 17 C.F.R. Section 240.10b-5.
If you are a shareholder who purchased Royal Caribbean securities during the Class Period, you have until October 3, 2011 to ask the Court to appoint you as Lead Plaintiff for the class. A copy of the complaint can be obtained at www.pomerantzlaw.com. To discuss this action, contact Rachelle R. Boyle at rrboyle@pomlaw.com or 888.476.6529 (or 888.4-POMLAW), toll free, x350.
Royal Caribbean is a global cruise company operating a fleet of vessels in the cruise vacation industry. The Complaint alleges that throughout the Class Period, defendants made false and/or misleading statements, as well as failed to disclose material adverse facts about the Company's business, operations, and prospects. Specifically, Defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (1) the Company improperly accounted interest expenses related to the amortization of certain financing fees related to certain of the Company's export credit agency guaranteed loans; (2) the Company lacked adequate internal and financial controls; and (3) as a result of the foregoing, the Company's statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times.
On July 27, 2011, after the market closed, the Company disclosed "an error in the previous accounting treatment of interest expense relating to its amortization of certain financing fees and has revised its past financial statements to reflect the correct accounting." As a result of the "error," the Company admitted that it had overstated the earnings per share ("EPS") for 2009, 2010, and the first quarter of 2011 by $0.05, $0.15 and $0.06, respectively. The Company also reduced its full-year earnings guidance by $0.10 per share excluding the "error," and by an additional $0.20 per share upon correcting the "error," rending the Company's new outlook for 2011 EPS to a range of $2.85-$2.95, down from a previous range of $3.10-$3.30.
On this news, the Company's shares declined $4.50 or more than 12.5% and closed at $31.26 the following day.
The Pomerantz Firm, with offices in New York, Chicago and Washington, D.C., is acknowledged as one of the premier firms in the areas of corporate, securities, and antitrust class litigation. Founded by the late Abraham L. Pomerantz, known as the dean of the class action bar, the Pomerantz Firm pioneered the field of securities class actions. Today, more than 70 years later, the Pomerantz Firm continues in the tradition he established, fighting for the rights of the victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, and corporate misconduct. The Firm has recovered numerous multimillion-dollar damages awards on behalf of class members. See www.pomerantzlaw.com.