Bernstein Liebhard LLP announced that a securities class action has been commenced in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois on behalf of a class of purchasers of Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Company common stock between August 7, 2012 through March 14, 2013.
Great Lakes is the largest provider of dredging services in the U.S. and a major provider of commercial and industrial demolition and remediation services. After the close of markets on March 14, 2013, Great Lakes announced that it would need to restate its second and third quarter 2012 results by millions of dollars and that the Company’s President/Chief Operating Officer (who was also the former Chief Financial Officer through August 20, 2012) was abruptly departing.
Regarding the restatement, the Company disclosed that it had identified instances in its demolition segment where revenue was recognized in a manner inconsistent with the Company’s accounting policy, in that certain pending change orders where client acceptance was not finalized were included as revenue. Great Lakes also disclosed that it would be reporting a material weakness in its internal controls over financial reporting.
In reaction to the news, Great Lakes’ shares fell 18%, from $8.97 per share on March 14, 2013 to $7.355 per share on March 15, 2013, on unusually heavy trading volume.
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Press Release, March 29, 2013