BRITISH banknote maker De La Rue continues to struggle with weak demand for cash but reiterated its upgraded full-year profit guidance.

The Basingstoke-based firm posted a pretax loss in the six months ended 30 September 2023 of £16.8m compared to £15.9m in the same period last year. Revenue ticked down 1.7 per cent to £161.5m.

Currency revenue fell 2.6 per cent to £113.4m. However, the firm said its currency order book more than doubled since September 2023 to £219.8m as the market recovers.

Earlier this year, it revealed that demand for banknotes had slumped to the weakest level in 20 years.

But it has since reassured investors that demand for currency was picking up and raised its profit expectations for the first half of the year after it.

Data from banking trade body UK Finance published in September showed cash payments increased for the first time in a decade.

The company said that data showed "an underlying demand for fresh banknotes", expecting cash in circulation to grow around five per cent a year globally.

(c) 2023 City A.M., source Newspaper