Revenue at the world's largest banknote printer fell 17% to £463.9m (2010: £561.1m), while operating and pre-tax profit plumetted 63% and 68% respectively to £40.4m (£109.2m) and £33.3m (£104.1m).

The huge falls in profitability were the result of the well publicised crisis involving production irregularities at the group's paper mill in Overton, Hampshire, as well as an unrelated reduction in banknote print volumes.

In spite of its travails in the past year, the business was able to maintain its final dividend of 28.2p using part of the £55.1m exceptional gain on the sale of its stake in UK national lottery operator Camelot.

De La Rue has now targeted a return to operating profits in excess of £100m within the next three years via £30m cost reductions and restoring revenue growth to historic rates of around 4%.

De La Rue chairman Nicholas Brookes said: "The 2010/11 financial year has undoubtedly been a difficult one for De La Rue, our employees, customers and shareholders. We have dealt with a number of challenges including paper production issues, lower than expected banknote print volumes, changes in senior management and a takeover approach.

"The Improvement Plan has a target to achieve an operating profit in excess of £100m within three years by both restoring revenue growth and delivering significant cost reduction. The Board is confident that this plan can be delivered and its decision to maintain the dividend reflects that confidence, and the strong fundamentals of the business."

De La Rue's management clearly sought to draw a line under the problems of last year, with chief executive Tim Cobbold commenting that he was confident that "given the strong fundamentals of De La Rue's business, the commitment of its employees and a clear Improvement Plan, we will deliver the value that our shareholders expect".

However, the firm was unable to completely lay the ghost of last year's production problems as it admitted that discussion were ongoing with the principal client involved - understood to be the Reserve Bank of India - and the authorities. "Therefore there remains uncertainty as to the ultimate outcome of these issues, including their financial impact," the firm said.

De La Rue's shares rose marginally in morning trading and were up 9p to £8.39 at the time of writing.