Interim Management Statement

Interim Management Statement

The Board of De La Rue plc today issues the following Interim Management Statement in respect of the period since 25 September 2010 to date as required by the UK Listing Authority's Disclosure and Transparency Rules.

Trading for the period has been in line with the Board's expectations for the second half of the financial year as described in the Interim Statement for the six months to 25 September 2010.

As indicated at the Interim results, the Currency Division volumes for the financial year are anticipated to be approximately 6 billion printed banknotes and 10,000 tonnes of banknote paper. The performance of Cash Processing Solutions has been consistent with the first half of 2010/11 as has that of the Security Products Division which continues to be affected by lower internal component sales by the Holographics business as a result of reduced banknote print and paper volumes. Following the launch of the new UK passport in October the Identity Systems Division is increasing volumes and, as planned, expects to be at full production levels before the financial year end. The Group's cash flow, which remains a key focus of management, was also in line with our expectations.

The Board has not, to date, seen evidence of an adverse impact of the recent paper production issues on the rest of the business. In respect of the principal customer affected by these issues, discussions have not yet concluded. While these discussions are ongoing banknote paper supplies for this customer remain suspended. The Group historically has outsourced a proportion of its paper requirements, the majority of which could be produced in-house.

Tim Cobbold joined the Board as Chief Executive on 1 January and has already made good progress in reviewing and assessing the Group's operations. With a strengthened senior management team and an experienced workforce, the Group is well placed to develop De La Rue's global presence and build on its strong customer relationships.

The Board remains confident that the Group's outlook for the financial year is in line with its previous expectations. 

Tim Cobbold, Chief Executive Officer, said:

"My first month at De La Rue has confirmed the potential to build on the considerable strengths of the business by extending our customer base and improving both how we work and the service we deliver to our customers around the world. My immediate focus is to develop and begin to execute the detailed plans that will underpin the value strategy shareholders rightly look to the Board to now deliver. I shall provide a full update at the announcement of our preliminary results at the end of May."

-ends-

28 January 2011