Business

De La Rue opts not to appeal losing out on the new UK passport contract

De La Rue said this morning it will not appeal the decision to award the new UK passport contract to a different firm, after previously saying it had been "undercut by a French competitor".

The firm also said that its full-year underlying operating profit is now expected to be buffeted by the write-off of bid costs relating to the UK passport tender.

It said in an update: "De La Rue will continue to fulfil its existing contract and assist with transition to the new supplier and is therefore expecting no impact on the group's performance in the next 18 months."

Read more: A truly global Britain would not meddle with the market

The current British manufacturer for the passports had previously said it was mulling contesting a decision to award the £490m contract to Franco-Dutch firm Gemalto.

De La Rue said in today's statement:

Full year underlying operating profit is anticipated to be in the low to mid £60s million range, reflecting the write off of the c£4m bid costs related to the UK passport tender and delays in the shipment of certain contracts in the last week of the period.

De La Rue's chief executive Martin Sutherland had told the BBC on news of the decision: "I'd like to ask Theresa May or Amber Rudd to come to my factory and explain to our dedicated workforce why this is a sensible decision to offshore the manufacture of a British icon."

The company has held the contract to make British passports since 2009, but said last month it had been undercut on price by Gemalto.

Today, De La Rue said it was "cautious" about full-year expectations, but said it had started the year with "a satisfactory order book" underpinned by 16 per cent growth.

Read more: De La Rue mulls appeal after losing out on new British passport contract

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