Profit alert pushes De La Rue further into the bid frame
A profit warning from accident-prone banknote printer De La Rue sent its shares tumbling on Wednesday, fuelling activist hopes for a takeover of the group.
The 200-year-old firm — under attack from activist Crystal Amber, which today upped its stake to 2% after the profit alert— took a £4 million hit from losing out on the British passport contract.
A separate contract delay means underlying profit for the year ending March 31 will between £60 million and £65 million against a recent forecast of £71 million-£73 million.
Shares tumbled 35.5p to 467.5p. They are now down by a fifth over the past month, roiled also by the impending departure of chief financial officer Jitesh Sodha.
Chief executive Martin Sutherland said he would not appeal the UK passport contract decision, awarded to French rival Gemalto last month.
“This is the rough and tumble of business, you win some you lose some,” he said.
“The grounds for appeal and chances of success mean the best business decision is to move on and focus on other things.”
Crystal Amber, which has previously gone after Sainsbury’s and Pinewood Studios, started building a stake in De La Rue after the passport fiasco.
Basingstoke-based De La Rue was subject to a 935p bid from French rival Oberthur in 2011 but twice rebuffed the approach prompting the suitor to walk away.
The shares are now 50% lower than the 2011 bid price.
