NEW YORK, July 1, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- The following statement was issued today by the law firm of Wechsler Harwood 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 securities purchasers of DRDGOLD Ltd. (Nasdaq:DROOY); (f/k/a Durban Roodepoort Deep, Limited)("DRD" or the "Company") between October 23, 2003 and February 25, 2005, inclusive (the "Class Period"). A copy of the complaint can be obtained from the Court or can be viewed on Wechsler Harwood web site at: www.whesq.com.
The complaint charges DRD, Mark Wellesley-Wood and Ian Louis Murray with violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. 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 South African operations, specifically the North West Operations, were underperforming due to production problems; (2) that the South African Rand was negatively impacting the Company's operations; (3) that due to (1) and (2), DRD materially overstated its net worth by failing to take timely writedowns; (4) that the Company lacked the cash to adequately cover future commitments and continue as a going concern; (5) that defendants' statements about the Company's growth and progress were lacking in any reasonable basis when made.
On February 18, 2005, DRD announced that Company headline loss per share would be more than 200 percent higher than the previous reporting period. Then, on February 24, 2005, DRD released its interim financial results, which revealed that the Company incurred and continued to incur significant losses and that operations were in process of being restructured. On this news, the shares of DRD fell by $0.38 per share, or 25 percent, on February 24, 2005, to close at $1.11 per share.
If you are a member of the class described above, you may, not later than July 18, 2005 move the Court to serve as lead plaintiff of the class, if you so choose. A lead plaintiff is a representative party that acts on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation. In order to be appointed lead plaintiff, the Court must determine that the class member's claim is typical of the claims of other class members, and that the class member will adequately represent the class.
Under certain circumstances, one or more class members may together serve as "lead plaintiff." Your ability to share in any recovery is not, however, affected by the decision whether or not to serve as a lead plaintiff. You may retain Wechsler Harwood, or other counsel of your choice, to serve as your counsel in this action
Wechsler Harwood has taken a leading role in many important actions on behalf of defrauded shareholders. The Wechsler Harwood website (www.whesq.com) has more information about the firm and detailed information regarding this matter. If you wish to discuss this action with us, or have any questions concerning this notice or your rights and interests with regard to the case, please contact the following: