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Harmony Gold Mining Company Limited Summary: According to a press release dated April 16, 2008, the Complaint charges Harmony Gold and certain of its officers and directors with violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Harmony Gold is a gold producer that operates 22 individual mines and projects across the world. More specifically, the Complaint alleges that the Company failed to disclose and misrepresented the following material adverse facts which were known to defendants or recklessly disregarded by them: (1) that the Company's costs had significantly increased throughout 2007; (2) that the Company had underreported these increased costs in its previously issued financial statements; (3) that the Company had experienced a significant decrease in gold production for the third quarter 2007 due to production problems at various sites, which had already materialized at the time its Class Period statements were made; (4) that the Company had failed to disclose the full impact that these production problems would have on the Company's financial and operational results; (5) that, as a result of the Company's understatement of its costs and its lower production for the quarter, the Company had understated its operating costs and overstated its net profit for the third quarter; (6) that, as a result of the foregoing, the Company's financial statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times; (7) that the Company would be forced to take substantial charges in the fourth quarter 2007 to remedy such failures, causing the Company to report a net loss for the quarter; (8) that the Company lacked adequate internal and financial controls; and (9) that, as a result of the above, the Company's statements about its financial well-being and future business prospects were lacking in any reasonable basis when made.
On August 6, 2007, Harmony Gold reported preliminary financial and operational results for its fourth quarter and fiscal year 2007 (ended June 30, 2007). The Company warned that its financial results for the quarter were "expected to differ significantly from those of the three previous quarters as well as from the analysts' consensus." For the fourth quarter, the Company stated that it expected to report a headline loss of between 130 and 160 SA cents per share, compared with a headline profit of 58 SA cents per share for the third quarter. This quarterly loss was primarily the result of the Company recording significantly higher costs for the quarter, and included a 25 to 28 percent increase in the Company's total cash operating costs as a result of "the newly installed accounting software system that resulted in some of the March quarter's costs being captured in the June 2007 quarter." Thus, the Company had substantially understated its costs in previous quarters and was forced to take substantial charges in the fourth quarter to remedy such underreported costs. Additionally, the Company reported that its cost base had increased by 8 to 12 percent from the previous six months. Finally, the Company announced that its Chief Executive Officer had resigned, "with immediate effect."
On this news, the Company's shares fell $2.45 per share, or over 18 percent, to close on August 6, 2007 at $11.02 per share, on unusually heavy trading volume. The following day, the Company's shares declined an additional $1.57 per share, or over 14 percent, to close on August 7, 2007 at $9.45 per share, again on heavy trading volume. This closing price on August 7, 2007 represented a two-day decline in the Company's shares of $4.02 per share, or 29.8 percent, and a cumulative decline of $7.25 per share, or over 43.4 percent, from the value of the Company's shares at their Class Period high of $16.70 on April 25, 2007.
Note: The class action lawsuit was filed on behalf of all purchasers of American Depository Receipts and call options and sellers of put options of Harmony Gold Mining Company Limited during the Class Period.
INDUSTRY CLASSIFICATION:
SIC Code: 1040
Sector: Basic Materials
Industry: Gold & Silver
| COMPANY/ISSUER NAME: | Harmony Gold Mining Company Limited |
| COMPANY/ISSUER TICKER: | HMY |
| COMPANY WEBSITE: | http://www.harmony.co.za |
| FIRST IDENTIFIED COMPLAINT IN THE DATABASE | |||||||||||||||||
| James J. Hayes, et al. v. Harmony Gold Mining Company Limited, et al. | |||||||||||||||||
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| DOCUMENTS FOR THE FIRST IDENTIFIED COMPLAINT | |||
| Class Action Complaint - Jury Trial Demanded | |||
| Type: Complaint | Date on the document: 4/16/2008 | ||
| US District Court Civil Docket | |||
| Type: Docket | Date on the document: 5/5/2008 | ||
| OTHER DOCUMENTS | |||
| Case Name and/or Number: | |||
| Type: | Date on the document: | ||
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