I first raised this issue on the HC boards back on 12th Feb....

I first raised this issue on the HC boards back on 12th Feb. (Monogamy, aka BigGob canned my post as being "uninformed and and attempt to downramp ALL".

Perhaps a few more such lawsuits may make more boards come to their senses.


THE HERALD SUN

Court-bound Aristocrat is out of luck
Mischa Merz
28nov03

ARISTOCRAT'S new chief executive Paul Oneile will have his work cut out with a Supreme Court class action being one of the first rolls of the dice to confront him.

Hot on the heels of the poker machine company's announcement of Mr Oneile's appointment yesterday a Supreme Court writ landed via law firm Maurice Blackman Cashman.
The firm's senior partner, Bernard Murphy, said the plaintiff alleged that Aristocrat misled its shareholders on profit forecasts and "did not comply with its duty to continuously disclose information to the Australian Stock Exchange".

"The statement of claim alleges that some of the company's market forecasts and announcements were in breach of the Corporations Act and other acts in that they were misleading. It also alleges that Aristocrat failed to disclose all information in the market in a timely way," Mr Murphy said.

Aristocrat spokeswoman Margot McKay said yesterday the company could not comment other than to say it was seeking legal advice.









Mr Murphy said Aristocrat provided its first profit downgrade on February 7 this year in relation to its profits for the previous year ending in December. Its market capitalisation fell from $2 billion to $1 billion in a flurry of share trading.

The forecast was revised from $109 million to $80.2 million, according to Maurice Blackburn Cashman.

A second profit downgrade three months later drove Aristocrat's market value down by more than $500 million.

News of the legal action stole chairman John Pascoe's thunder yesterday when he announced that Mr Oneile, previously the CEO of United International Pictures based in London, would take the top job.

"Aristocrat is now entering a new phase. The company has moved forward from difficulties experienced earlier this year," Mr Pascoe said.

"The business fundamentals and cash flows remain strong, reflecting the underlying health of the business. I am confident the depth of Paul's experience in international management and in driving shareholder value will result in a significant contribution to Aristocrat."

Aristocrat shares yesterday closed down 2c at $2.03.