Leighton Holdings Ltd, an Australian construction company that is also active in telecommunications and environmental services, was sued by its shareholders, according to a Bloomberg report.

The lawsuit was filed as shareholders claimed that they were misled in 2011 when Leighton reversed its profit forecast. The case was filed today in federal court in Sydney, Australia by Maurice Blackburn Lawyers, a Melbourne-based class action firm. According to the lawyers' email statement, the class action was filed on behalf of more than 2,000 Leighton shareholders who bought their shares between Aug. 16, 2010, and April 11, 2011.

Leighton projected a net income of AUD480 million for its fiscal year in February 2011. By April 11 of the same year, it projected it would have an AUD427 million in losses for the year. The loss stemmed from Leighton's AUD1.1 billion writedown in relation to several projects. These were the Brisbane Airport Link, a desalination plant project in Victoria and a joint venture in Dubai. After the writedown, Leighton's shares dropped to as low as 15% on April 14, 2011.

Leighton argued that the claim had no basis and that they would contest it, according to its statement to the Australian Stock Exchange made today.