De la Rue's currency orders slide

Bank note printer De La Rue appears said orders in its Currency division have been below expectations since the beginning of April.

The decline in orders during the three months from April 1st was the result of delays in receipt of orders and the more challenging market conditions for bank note paper. The firm expects volumes for the year to return to the usual weighting towards the second half, unlike the previous financial year.

In the Solutions division, trading was in line with management expectations, with Identity Systems and Cash Processing Solutions trading well, while market conditions for Security Products remain "challenging".

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The firm said good progress continues to be made in delivering the cost reductions in the improvement plan, which has a target 2013/14 operating profit in excess of £100m.

The group's order book at the end of first quarter was at a similar level to that at the year end, with "a number of important opportunities" in the pipeline that are yet to be confirmed for production in the current financial year.

"With the improvement plan on track, and a good order pipeline the board's expectation for the current year remains unchanged," the company said.

Chairman Nicholas Brookes told shareholders at the annual general meeting on Thursday that trading since the beginning of April had been "satisfactory"; the market begged to differ, with the share price falling 4.51% to 1,017p in the morning session.

NR