BANK note and anti-counterfeiting specialist De La Rue is expecting a slight jump in sales and profits when it publishes its interim profits.

The company, which employs around 400 people at its biggest bank note manufacturing site on the Team Valley, said operating profits will be around £33m, up 5% on last year in the six months to September 24, while sales are up by around 3% at £245m.

De La Rue said bank note print volumes were up 4% at 2.9 billion notes although paper volumes dropped by 15% to 4,500 tonnes.

Its order book stood at £248m at the end of September, the same as the start of its financial year.