Signs of economic recovery in Europe and the United States are fragile – and in any case they are not coming through to the private security market. That was the view of Alf Göransson, Securitas’ President and Chief Executive Officer, when the Swedish-based company gave its interim report for the first nine months of 2013.
Göransson said: “The organic sales growth was 1 percent and reflected the challenging macroeconomic situation that prevails in the US and in Europe, and the security market in countries such as France, Portugal and Spain continues to deteriorate. Fragile signs of macro economical recovery in Europe and the US are not yet reflected in the security market growth. Latin America continued to show strong organic sales growth.”
The multi-national reports an improvement in its margin, driven by cost savings. Göransson said: “The quarter on quarter improvement trend continued, even though hampered by the weak security market and slow organic sales growth. The operating margin improved in all divisions compared to previous year, mainly driven by the various restructuring and cost savings actions taken in 2012. We achieved cost savings according to our restructuring plan.”
In the UK, MD Geoff Zeidler left the company in June and is now a consultant. The UK arm of Securitas featured in a Channel 4 documentary Undercover Boss, featured in the September print issue of Professional Security.
Securitas markets itself as a ‘knowledge leader’ in security – that is, rather than a contractor offering other services besides security – and is stressing its shift towards ‘security solutions and technology’ rather than purely manned guarding. Worldwide the firm reports that it has some 300,000 staff, working from retail to airports. In 2012 the sales of security solutions and technology represented about 6 percent of group sales; the company has a target to triple this share by the end of 2015.
