Shares in the French digitial security group Gemalto shot up by more than 4.0 percent in morning trading Friday on news it had won a major US contract for electronic passport technology.
Gemalto said the US Government Printing Office (GPO) had placed its first order with the company for embedable computer chips that "add facial biometric and other security features to passport books".
Text data and photographs featured in the passports "can be read with a contactless reader at a border entry point and the electronically provided data can be compared to the information printed in the passport at issuance".
At CM-CIC Securities, analyst Eric Ravary said: "This order is obviously a first-class reference for the group in terms of electronic identity, confirming its leadership in an application with strong growth potential."
Gemalto did not provide financial details of the contract, but noted that the GPO had produced more than 10 million passports last year.
Ernie Berger, president of Gemalto North America was quoted by a statement as saying: "Winning this contract gives us enormous satisfaction and we look forward to delivering the first electronic passports to U.S. citizens."
Initial deliveries by Gemalto, the world leader in smart-card technology, are scheduled for next year.
Shares in the company gained 4.64 percent to 16.90 euros in Paris trading, while the CAC 40 index of leading shares showed an increase of 0.55 percent.
