De la Rue to close Gateshead printing ops in the UK
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De La Rue said on Wednesday it was planning to raise around 100 million pounds ($125.74 million) in new equity and would cut jobs at its Gateshead site in England after the loss of its contract for printing UK passports post Brexit.
The company, which plans to close its banknote as well as UK passport printing operations at Gateshead site, said it would keep some core services and roles there.
The over 200-year old company has faced its share of setbacks in the past few years, including two profit warnings in 2019, a ballooning debt pile and the loss of a major contract to make Britain’s new passports, which prompted De La Rue to warn on its future late last year.
On a positive note, the company said on Tuesday that Britain’s Serious Fraud Office had closed a year-long investigation into its business conduct in South Sudan and that no further action would be taken.
De La Rue reported a 61% drop in adjusted operating profit to 23.7 million pounds for the year ended March 30. Revenue fell 17% to 426.7 million pounds.
“We are now well underway with our plans to turn around the Company, with opportunities to grow our revenue and reduce our cost base,” said CEO Clive Vacher, adding that the fundraising will be used to deliver the turnaround plan.
Vacher, who took charge of the company in October last year, conceded in February that “considerable” work was needed at the company as he unveiled plans to improve profitability by reining in costs and investing in polymer notes.
