Its share price rose 9% to 257.5p on Monday (7 July) even though the company had not yet signed a formal contract. Early on Tuesday it had risen further to 266.3p.

The announcement was welcome news for the group, which has issued three profit warnings in the last year and reported a 47% drop in profit before tax and exceptionals and an 11% drop in sales for the year to 29 March (PrintWeek, 30 May).

After the war in Iraq was declared over, the US administration was forced to start re-issuing dinars picturing Saddam Hussein. But the new currency, which will circulate from 15 October, is more like the Swiss dinar currently used in Kurdish-controlled parts of the country. De La Rue still has the plates from the last time Swiss dinars were printed.

The Basingstoke-based company, which completed the acquisition of the Bank of Englands Debden banknote printing plant earlier this year (PrintWeek, 4 April), has not given any indication of the value of the contract, but reports suggest it is in the region of 70m.

This deal will make De La Rue one of the first British firms to benefit significantly from the multi-billion-pound rebuilding of the Iraqi economy.

De La Rue will lead a consortium of global currency specialists to manufacture the banknotes. Negotiations are in the early stages and it is still to be decided whose images will feature on the currency.

De La Rues year so far
February - Issued a profit warning due to a decline in its cash systems business
April Completed the 10m acquisition of the Bank of Englands Debden plant
May Preliminary results for the year showed a 47% drop in pre-tax profit on sales down 11%

Story by Rachel Barnes