De La Rue : 2017/18 half year results

De La Rueplc (LSE: DLAR) (De La Rue, the 'Group' or the 'Company') announces its half year results for 27 weeks ended 30 September 2017 (the period or half year). The comparative period was 26 weeks ended 24 September 2016.

FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS

• Revenue +29% and adjusted operating profit*(1) +11%, reported operating profit +7%
• Currency business delivered strong growth with revenue +36% and adjusted operating profit*(1) +16%, driven by high volumes
• Banknote Paper volume +36% to 7,200 tonnes
• Banknote Print volume +6% to 3.5bn notes
• Polymer volume +570% to 400 tonnes
• Identity Solutions and Product Authentication revenues +3% and +20%, respectively
• Adjusted basic earnings per share +19% to 16.6p
• Net debt £137.4m, up £16.5m from the year end due to higher working capital
• Group 12 month order book of £363m as at September 2017

STRATEGIC AND OPERATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS

• Increased investment in product development
• R&D investment increased by 33% year on year
• Joint product development and exclusive sales agreement with security features developer and manufacturer Opalux
• Polymer momentum continues - signed 10 year contract to supply Safeguard® substrate for Bank of England new £20 notes
• DLR Analytics™ launched in May gaining further traction, with 60 central banks signed up
• Joint development agreement with Note Printing Australia for new Australian passport
• De La Rue Authentication Solutions (previously DuPont Authentication) is performing to plan

KEY FINANCIALS

CEO COMMENTARY

Martin Sutherland, Chief Executive Officer of De La Rue, commented:

'De La Ruehas performed well in the first half, driven by strong growth in the Currency business and we have continued to make good progress against our strategic plan.

'Polymer has reached a significant milestone with the award of a 10 year contract to supply our polymer substrate Safeguard® for the Bank of England's new £20 note. DLR Analytics, our cash cycle management software launched in May this year, has gained more traction. More than 60 central banks have now signed up to the pilot programme, further strengthening De La Rue's position in the industry.

'R&D investment has increased by 33% in the first half as we continue to invest in new products and capabilities. Product Authentication grew by 20%, driven by De La RueAuthentication Solutions which is performing to plan.

'The strong revenue growth in the first half, driven by high volumes of lower margin Banknote Paper and Print orders, reflects the lumpy nature of contracts. Performance in the second half is expected to be broadly in line with the same period last year. Overall, our outlook for the year remains unchanged.'

Enquiries:

A conference call will take place at 9:00 am GMT on 21 November 2017, which is also accessible via webcast on www.delarue.com.

For the live webcast, please register at www.delarue.com where a replay will also be available subsequently.

View the full announcement as PDF

About De La Rue

De La Rue's purpose is to enable every citizen to participate securely in the global economy. As a trusted partner of governments, central banks and commercial organisations, De La Rueprovides products and services that underpin the integrity of trade, personal identity and the movement of goods.

As the world's largest designer and commercial printer of banknotes, De La Ruedesigns, manufactures and delivers banknotes, banknote substrates and security features to customers in a world where currency will continue to be a key part of the developing payments eco-system. De La Rueis the only fully integrated supplier of both paper and polymer banknotes, and creates security features that ensure banknotes are protected against counterfeiting.

De La Rueis the world's largest commercial designer and printer of passports, delivering national and international identity tokens and software solutions for governments in a world that is increasingly focused on the importance of a legal and secure identity for every individual.

De La Ruealso creates and delivers secure product identifiers and 'track and trace' software for governments and commercial customers alike to help to tackle the challenge of illicit or counterfeit goods and the collection of revenue and excise duties.

De La Rueis listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE:DLAR). For further information visit www.delarue.com

Cautionary note regarding forward-looking statements

These results include statements that are, or may be deemed to be, 'forward-looking statements'. These forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology, including the terms 'believes', 'estimates', 'anticipates', 'expects', 'intends', 'plans', 'goal', 'target', 'aim', 'may', 'will', 'would', 'could' or 'should' or, in each case, their negative or other variations or comparable terminology. These forward-looking statements include all matters that are not historical facts. They appear in a number of places throughout these results and the information incorporated by reference into these results and include statements regarding the intentions, beliefs or current expectations of the directors, De La Rueor the Group concerning, amongst other things, the results of operations, financial condition, liquidity, prospects, growth, strategies and dividend policy of De La Rueand the industry in which it operates.

By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that may or may not occur in the future and may be beyond De La Rue's ability to control or predict. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance. The Group's actual results of operations, financial condition, liquidity, dividend policy and the development of the industry in which it operates may differ materially from the impression created by the forward-looking statements contained in these results and/or the information incorporated by reference into these results. In addition, even if the results of operations, financial condition, liquidity and dividend policy of the Group and the development of the industry in which it operates, are consistent with the forward-looking statements contained in these results and/or the information incorporated by reference into these results, those results or developments may not be indicative of results or developments in subsequent periods.

Other than in accordance with its legal or regulatory obligations, De La Ruedoes not undertake any obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

21 November 2017

*This is a non-IFRS measure. Amortisation of acquired intangible assets is a non-cash item while exceptional items are non-recurring in nature. By excluding these items from the adjusted operating profit and EPS metrics, the Directors are of the opinion that these measures give a better understanding of the underlying performance of the business. 'Reported' measures are on an IFRS basis. See page 26 for further explanations and reconciliation to the comparable IFRS measures.

(1) Excludes exceptional item net charges of £1.8m (H1 2016/17: £1.0m) and amortisation of acquired intangible assets of £0.2m (H1 2016/17: £nil).

(2) Excludes exceptional item charges of £1.8m (H1 2016/17: £1.0m), amortisation of acquired intangible assets of £0.2m (H1 2016/17: £nil) and related tax credits of £0.2m (H1 2016/17: £0.2m).

Revenue and adjusted operating profit growth rates for the Identity Solutions and Product Authentication & Traceability reflect a change in allocation of results for these segments made in the year. See more information in Note 2 on pages 19 to 20.