Tuesday, August 26, 2008

GT Solar Reports Record Numbers as Law Firm Attempts to Poop in Punch Bowl (SOLR)

The stock was up 52 cents (3.84 %) before the release and is down $2.07 (14.71%) in aftermarket trade.
From BusinessWire (@4:05 EDT):
GT Solar International, Inc. Reports Fiscal Year 2009 First Quarter Results

Highlights

  • Revenue for the first quarter of fiscal year 2009 grew to $57.1 million, up 272% from the prior year first quarter revenue
  • Gross margin for the quarter was 42.6%
  • Net income for first quarter of fiscal year 2009 was $5.1 million, compared to a loss of $5.0 million for the prior year first quarter
  • Earnings per share for first quarter of fiscal year 2009 was $0.03, compared to a loss of $0.04 for the same quarter of fiscal year 2008
  • Company completed its initial public offering (IPO) and listing on NASDAQ on July 24th, 2008...MORE


From MarketWatch (@4:27 EDT):
Milberg LLP Announces Its Investigation on Behalf of Certain Investors of GT Solar International, Inc. -- SOLR
...According to the complaints, on July 23, 2008, GT Solar accomplished its IPO of 30.3 million shares at $16.50 per share for net proceeds of $500 million, pursuant to the Registration Statement (the "Offering"). The proceeds from the Offering went to GT Solar Holdings, LLC ("GT Solar Holdings"). GT Solar Holdings intended to use the net proceeds it received via the Offering to make a distribution to its shareholders. In its first day of trading, GT Solar closed at $14.59 per share on July 24, 2008.
The following day, on July 25, 2008, before the market opened, LDK Solar Co., LTD ("LDK"), GT Solar's largest customer, issued a press release announcing that it had signed a contract to purchase production equipment from one of GT Solar's competitors. On this news, GT Solar's stock price declined to as low as $9.30 per share before closing at $12.59 per share on July 25, 2008, losing 13% of its value in its second day of trading.
According to the complaint, the Registration Statement failed to disclose the true extent of the risks surrounding the Company's relationship with LDK, including the fact that the Company was at imminent risk of losing out on a contract for future orders from LDK due to delays in shipping production equipment to LDK....MORE

I still think of them as Milberg Weiss which is of course incorrect since name partner Mel Weiss was convicted in Federal District Court for being nasty in public, private and just in general.
From Fortune, Oct. '07:
Milberg Weiss faces the music
Three of the four men who once ran the lawsuit factory have now agreed to plead guilty. Co-founder Mel Weiss will take his chances at trial, says Fortune's Peter Elkind....
And from the Wall Street Journal's Law Blog:
July '08:

Mel Weiss to Milberg: Show Me The Money!
Mel Weiss may be due to report to prison soon, but he’s still fighting to share in Milberg’s legal fees.

Weiss in June was sentenced to 30 months in prison for his role in Milberg’s scheme to pay kickbacks to clients. Also in June, the firm reached a deal with the government in which it admitted wrongdoing in exchange for prosecutors agreeing to drop charges. At the time, Milberg blamed the wrongdoing on its former partners, including Weiss. “Our former partners who were prosecuted were deliberately concealing their illegal activities from us,” Milberg said in a statement at the time....

Milberg needs the money from SOLR or their kitties don't get Beluga for breakfast (Sevruga? Yuck. I'll scratch your eyes out as you sleep, big daddy):

The Saga’s End (Almost): Milberg, Feds Reach $75 Million Settlement

For better or worse, we can now (almost) close the book on the Milberg Weiss saga. Yesterday, the U.S. attorney’s office in Los Angeles and the firm — now known as Milberg LLP — announced a settlement agreement. In exchange for $75 million, an admission of wrongdoing and a smattering of other concessions, the government agreed to drop all charges against the firm. Here are stories from the WSJ and NYT.It’s likely more than a small victory for Milberg — a guilty plea or conviction may well have meant the end of the firm.

“The settlement with Milberg reflects the seriousness of what was probably the longest-running scheme ever conducted by a law firm,” U.S. Attorney Thomas P. O’Brien said in a statement. “The monetary payment will punish the firm for allowing this conduct to occur, and the compliance monitor should ensure that Milberg will not again lie to judges presiding over cases it is litigating.”...

Here's the link to the Law Blog's coverage. It is exhaustive (and exhausting)