De La Rue H1 operating profit falls

Banknote printer De La Rue reported a decline in first-half operating profit on Thursday as revenue fell, with revenue from the currency segment down as a number of deliveries moved into the second half of the year.

In the six months to 28 September, adjusted operating profit dipped to £7.3m from £7.9m in the same period a year earlier, as revenue fell 10.2% to £145.1m.

However, pre-tax losses narrowed to £6.5m from £16.8m.

In the currency business, revenue reduced to £94.9m from £113.4m, with a number of deliveries moving into the second half, as previously guided. On the bright side, however, the order book in the currency arm continued to build, standing at £251.7m at 28 September, up from £239.2m at the end of March.

Revenue from the authentication segment ticked up to £50.2m from £48.1m.

Chief executive Clive Vacher said: "We have made substantial progress in 2024 both operationally and strategically. We have reached agreement for a sale of Authentication to Crane NXT for £300m and completion of the Authentication sale will allow us to repay both our existing banking facilities in full and materially reduce the remaining deficit on our legacy defined benefit pension scheme.

"We have also built up the Currency order book to the highest levels seen for at least the last five years. The material new orders that we have won in recent months will begin to convert into increased revenue as we move into the next financial year and solidly underpin our growth expectations.

"With these firm foundations, our ongoing currency business is now well positioned to take full advantage of an improving market, with a substantial upward step change in activity in 2025 and beyond."

At 0915 GMT, the shares were down 6.9% at 102p.