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De La Rue expects volume decrease
De La Rue has said that its banknote volumes are expected to decrease by 20% this year following production irregularities.
The biggest banknote printer in the world, which prints notes for the Bank of England, along with over 150 national currencies, said that the production crisis was a result of employees supposedly avoiding quality-control paperwork.
This issue led to the firm's chief executive James Hussey to resign, and cost De La Rue £35 million. However, the impact of this change on the company's annual results is still unknown.
De La Rue had said early in 2010 that its staff had faked paper specification test certificates for some banknote customers following an inquiry into production problems at an Overton facility in Hampshire.
The group has finished its own investigation on the issue but the Serious Fraud Office is still carrying out its examination. For now, the firm has refrained from providing further details.
De La Rue stopped the production and shipment of the affected banknote in July for two months while the matter was investigated, which hit overall volumes, but the firm said it was encouraged by the level of orders in recent weeks.
The group posted a 57% rise in pre-tax profits to £69.4 million in the six months to September 25, after the hit from the production issues was offset by the sale of assets and the closure of a pension scheme.
Copyright © Press Association 2010
