Microsoft extends De La Rue authentication contract

Microsoft has extended its contract with De La Rue for the supply of authentication technologies by another five years to 2026.

It's an important win for De La Rue's authentication and brand protection business, which covers government tax stamps and other tools to verify commercial brands through the supply chain but has been hit by some delays in securing new government revenue solutions contracts since the pandemic hit.

The company is preparing to publish its annual results later this month, but saw a dip in its authentication revenues in its interim results reported last November.

The renewed contract covers Microsoft original equipment manufacturer (OEM) and retail products, including its Xbox range and involve the use of both physical and digital brand protection technologies.

The company has also been awarded contracts for digital tax stamp schemes with two countries, which is it says demonstrates "its continued growth in the government revenue solutions market." It adds that the new contracts are in line with the turnaround plan expectations under new chief executive Clive Vacher.

In February, De La Rue extended its range of authentication technologies with the launch of a new smartphone enabled hologram validation tool called DLR Validate. It is an optional plug in to the Traceology app which De La Rue makes available to customers who use its PURE and IZON security labels.

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay