Embattled De La Rue says trading on course

The banknote printer De La Rue said yesterday that supplies to a key customer were still suspended as it had not resolved talks over production problems five months after they first emerged.

But the company said issues with the client, understood to be the Reserve Bank of India, were yet to have an adverse impact on the rest of its business.

De La Rue suspended production on the contract in July, after it claimed some employees had falsified paper specification test certificates at a plant in Overton, Hampshire. Its chief executive, James Hussey, was forced to resign and the issue cost the firm £35m in its half-year results.

Its shares fell 1.7 per cent to 686.5p after yesterday's update, in which it confirmed that trading since 25 September had been in line with expectations.

Most recently, De La Rue has been batting off takeover interest from a French rival, Oberthur. The Paris-based company dropped its plans on Monday after De La Rue rejected a raised offer valuing it at roughly £925m. De La Rue's shares plunged 16 per cent when Oberthur pulled the plug on its approach.