SHARES in De la Rue fell this morning after the Basingstoke-headquartered company posted lower annual profits resulting in it cutting its dividend from 42p to 25p.

Consequently, shares in the FTSE 250 listed company fell by ten per cent during early morning trading.

However, shares had picked up a little by 1pm this afternoon and were trading at 504.50p, which is down by 8.85 per cent.

The bank note printer reported its annual profits had dropped by a quarter to £57.7million due to lower levels of new business.

Commenting on the annual report, De La Rue chief executive Martin Sutherland said: “These results are in line with our revised expectations and include the benefit of further operational efficiencies.

“However, these have been outweighed by the impact of the challenging market conditions on revenue and operating profit across the group.

“In my first seven months, I have strengthened the leadership team and restructured the organisation to better align the business with its strategic needs as well as initiating a number of actions to achieve substantial cost savings which will be largely reinvested in the business to drive growth.

“I have completed a review of the business and formulated a clear strategic plan to deliver growth and improved profitability in the long term through a greater focus on customers, innovation and delivery.”