(Reuters) – Struggling British banknote printer De La Rue Plc warned its fiscal 2023 profit was set to miss market expectations and next year’s outlook was uncertain, as demand for cash hit its lowest in over two decades, sending shares to a record low.
The company said it was talking to lenders about amending its banking terms due to the worsening outlook, while it has requested its pension trustee to defer its next deficit contribution.
The over 200-year-old company, which works with governments, central banks and commercial organisations in more than 140 countries, signalled in November significant doubts about its ability to continue as a going concern.
De La Rue shares, which have lost more than half of their value so far this year, fell more than 30% to 33 pence on Wednesday to a record low.
The company said it expected adjusted operating profit for the year ended on March 25 to undershoot market expectations by a mid-single digit percentage.
It expected adjusted operating profit to be in the low 20 million pound ($24.84 million) range for its fiscal 2024.
The banknote printer said the downturn in demand for currency was also causing significant uncertainty in its outlook for 2024.
The warning come at a time when the company is under pressure from its third-largest shareholder, Crystal Amber Fund, to remove the chairman and shake-up at the struggling banknote printer to revive its performance and share price.
On the positive side, revenue at its authentication business, which designs and makes secure documents as well as security features such as holograms to authenticate goods, is expected to exceed 100 million pounds for the first time in 2024, partly thanks to its Australian passport contract.
($1 = 0.8050 pounds)
(Reporting by Radhika Anilkumar and Yadarisa Shabong in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D’Souza, Varun H K and Tomasz Janowski)
