Motion to Dismiss Granted by U.S. District of Maryland Court
QINGDAO, China and ROCKVILLE, Md., April 29 /PRNewswire-Asia/ -- Synutra International, Inc. (Nasdaq: SYUT), a leading infant formula company in China and a producer, marketer and seller of nutritional products for infants, children and adults, today announced that the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland granted Synutra’s motion to dismiss a civil action complaint filed against the Company. The lawsuit was a product liability action related to the melamine crisis in China. The Court granted the Company’s motion to dismiss in an Order dated March 29, 2010, finding that the Chinese judicial system was the more appropriate forum for addressing these actions.
Liang Zhang, Chairman and CEO of Synutra, stated, "We are gratified with the court’s decision to dismiss this case. We have already addressed significant legal actions in China, and this dismissal is much more efficient for our Company and for our shareholders."
On April 27, 2010, the plaintiffs filed a notice of appeal of the dismissal order.
About Synutra International, Inc.
Synutra International Inc. (Nasdaq: SYUT) is a leading infant formula company in China. It principally produces, markets and sells its products under the "Shengyuan," or "Synutra," name, together with other complementary brands. It focuses on selling premium infant formula products, which are supplemented by more affordable infant formulas targeting the mass market as well as other nutritional products and ingredients. It sells its products through an extensive, nationwide sales and distribution network covering 30 provinces and provincial-level municipalities in China. As of December 31, 2009, this network comprised over 540 distributors and over 1000 sub-distributors who sell Synutra products in over 67,000 retail outlets. Additional information about Synutra International, Inc. can be found at http://www.synutra.com .
Forward-looking Statements: This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that are based on our current expectations, assumptions, estimates and projections about Synutra International Inc. and its industry. All statements other than statements of historical fact in this release are forward-looking statements. In some cases, these forward-looking statements can be identified by words or phrases such as "anticipate," "believe," "continue," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "is/are likely to," "may," "plan," "should," "will," "aim," "potential," "continue," or other similar expressions. The forward-looking statements included in this press release relate to, among others, Synutra’s goals and strategies; its future business development, financial condition and results of operations; the expected growth of the nutritional products and infant formula markets in China; market acceptance of our products; Synutra’s expectations regarding demand for its products; Synutra’s ability to stay abreast of market trends and technological advances; competition in the infant formula industry in China; PRC governmental policies and regulations relating to the nutritional products and infant formula industries, and general economic and business conditions in China. These forward-looking statements involve various risks and uncertainties. Although Synutra believes that the expectations expressed in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, these expectations may turn out to be incorrect. Synutra’s actual results could be materially different from the expectations. Important risks and factors that could cause actual results to be materially different from expectations are generally set forth in the "Item 1. Business," "Item 1A. Risk Factors," "Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations," and other sections in Synutra’s Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on June 15, 2009. The forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this press release. Synutra International Inc. undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date on which the statements are made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events
