Money printer De La Rue faces more cash problems

Banknote printer De La Rue’s shares were hammered by yet another profit warning today after another setback to its three-year recovery plan.

The Bank of England’s currency supplier set a plan in 2011, after the group was nearly taken over by French rival Oberthur. De La Rue found itself vulnerable after producing faulty notes for the Reserve Bank of India, one of the 200-year-old company’s biggest customers.

But the firm warned this morning that profit in the 12 months to March next year would be £90 million, £10 million short of the £100 million target chief executive Tim Cobbold had set to win back disillusioned investors. The shares tumbled 9%, or 84.25p, to 896.75p.

The group said that print volumes across the more than 150 currencies it produces were down 10% in the first half of the year to 2.6 billion notes. “Overcapacity” in the banknote market has also hurt prices.

The division that sorts, counts and authenticates banknotes has been loss making in the first six months.