DENVER, Oct. 31, 2008 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Dyer & Berens LLP today announced that a class action lawsuit has been filed in the United States District Court for the Western District of New York, on behalf of purchasers of Hardinge Inc. ("Hardinge" or the "Company") (Nasdaq:HDNG) securities between February 22, 2007 and February 21, 2008, inclusive (the "Class Period").
If you purchased Hardinge securities during the Class Period, you may, no later than December 29, 2008, request that the Court appoint you as a lead plaintiff for the Class. A lead plaintiff is a class member that acts on behalf of other investors in directing the litigation. Although your ability to share in any recovery is not affected by your decision to seek appointment as a lead plaintiff, lead plaintiffs make important decisions which could affect the overall recovery for class members.
For a free consultation regarding your rights and interests with respect to the pending lawsuit, you may contact Jeffrey A. Berens, Esq. at (888) 300-3362, (303) 861-1764 or via email at jeff@dyerberens.com.
The complaint charges Hardinge and three of its senior officers with violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 for making and/or allowing false and misleading statements concerning Hardinge's business, operations and prospects. Specifically, defendants failed to disclose: (a) that Hardinge's orders and sales were slowing; (b) that slowing sales were causing Hardinge's inventory of outdated machinery to grow; (c) that the Company failed to timely record an impairment in the value of its inventory; (d) that as a result, the Company's financial results were materially inflated; and (e) that the Company lacked adequate internal controls.
On February 21, 2008, Hardinge shocked investors when it revealed that in the fourth quarter of 2007, Hardinge experienced a combination of prior period accounting adjustments and the negative impact of operational initiatives to reduce inventory. These events contributed to an unexpected loss in Hardinge's fourth quarter and full year 2007 earnings. In particular, the Company's gross margin was lower than expected as a result of: (i) prior period accounting adjustments related to intercompany profits in inventory elimination and accounts payable which were recorded in the fourth quarter of 2007; (ii) the rebalancing of production volumes in the Company's United States and Taiwan production facilities to address current market demand for certain products and to reduce inventory; (iii) higher price discounting related to plans to reduce finished machine inventories and accelerate the phase-out of older product lines; and (iv) product and channel mix changes.
Hardinge also revealed its plans to lower inventory by $20 million and to discount inventory of older product lines. These initiatives would continue to constrain the Company's margins during the 2008 fiscal year. On this news, Hardinge's shares declined more than 25%, to close on February 21, 2008 at $12.20 per share, on unusually heavy trading volume.
Although at this time, Dyer & Berens LLP has not filed its complaint in this matter, it specializes in complex class action litigation on behalf of injured investors throughout the nation. The firm's extensive experience in securities litigation, particularly in cases brought under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act, has contributed to the recovery of hundreds of millions of dollars for aggrieved investors. For more information about the firm, please go to www.DyerBerens.com.