Banknote printer De La Rue's chairman steps down

(Reuters) - British banknote printer De La Rue Plc said on Friday chairman Kevin Loosemore has resigned from his role and will leave office on May 1.

Loosemore's resignation comes weeks after its third-largest shareholder Crystal Amber Fund Limited had called for a general meeting to oust the company's chairman.

The company said it has launched a search for Loosemore's replacement. Crystal Amber has nominated Pepyn Dinandt as a candidate.

Shares in the company was down 3.82% at 39 pence as at 1543 GMT.

Earlier this week, De La Rue, which designs paper and polymer banknotes for government and central banks across the world, warned on its 2023 profits as demand for cash hit its lowest in over two decades.

Crystal Amber was concerned that going concern doubts, which were raised by the company in November, could hurt De La Rue's ability to win new contracts and retail existing ones.

Loosemore, who has been with the company for over 3-1/2 years, had earlier survived Crystal Amber's call for his resignation in October, after majority of shareholders in December voted for him to stay on.

(Reporting by Sinchita Mitra in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)