Organic sales growth continued to be strong, Alf Göransson, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Swedish multi-national Securitas, said in the company’s interim report from January to September 2015. That was supported by good sales momentum in the US as well as in Europe and by continued positive development in Spain.
While operating margin in North and South America improved, to 5.8 and 4.7 per cent respectively, for Security Services Europe it declined from 5.7 per cent to 5.5pc. In Europe the client retention rate remained 92pc while the employee turnover was 27pc. Securitas’ European arm has some 117,000 employees.
Göransson, pictured, said: “We estimate that we grow faster than the security markets in the US and Europe, mainly supported by our strategy of security solutions and technology. We believe that we can grow the sales of security solutions and technology in at least the same range as last year, ie 28 percent or more. This is supported by the development in the first nine months of 2015.
He said that Securitas had come far in the effort to become the leading security solutions company. “We are at the forefront of the transformation of the security industry. During the third quarter 2015, we have launched the Group Vision 2020 project, to shape our strategy to become even stronger in the years ahead. We have set a clear plan and started the implementation process to reinforce and accelerate our strategy. In our vision 2020 we are the leading international security company specialising in Protective Services based on people, technology and knowledge.”
As the multi-national has been saying for some years, it’s looking to combine technology with guarding services. And it’s still making acquisitions. In October, Securitas agreed to acquire the commercial contracts and operational assets of Diebold Incorporated’s Electronic Security business in North America, which it described as the third largest commercial electronic security provider in North America. Göransson said: “This acquisition is in line with our vision 2020 and enables us to offer completely integrated security solutions to our customers in North America.”
As for guarding, Göransson said that the firm will also continue to expand its mobile patrol and response, ‘as we believe that it will be an increasingly important competitive advantage to be able to respond faster than any other security company’. The company also will expand the scope beyond guarding and electronic security to invest and focus more in fire and safety and in corporate risk management. “We see good operational synergies in these areas and at the same time it increases the value we can deliver to our customers as it optimises the total security and safety spend.”
For the interim report from January to September 2015 in full visit http://www.securitas.com/globalassets/pressreleasedocuments/wkr000634.pdf.
Separately, Securitas and the US firm Alarm.com have entered into a strategic partnership to launch Alarm.com’s cloud-based security and automation services in Europe. The two companies will collaborate on what they call ‘interactive solutions’ for residential and commercial security applications by offering third-party sales channels a ‘smart home package’. The plan is to begin pilots later this year before a phased European launch during 2016. Securitas says it sees this partnership is one way to grow the company’s remote services and mobile network.
Olle Lindskog, Director Business Development Alarm Services, Securitas Security Services Europe, says: “The business partnership with Alarm.com will enable Securitas to find new sales channels in Europe to generate monitoring and mobile patrol sales growth.”
Alarm.com with a mobile app offers security, energy, video and automation devices on a cloud platform. Reed Grothe, Alarm.com’s Senior Vice President of Global Business Development, says: “Security services are driving the adoption of smart home technology today and partnering with a global brand like Securitas is a strong fit for our international strategy. Our proven platform and commitment to innovation will help Securitas to introduce the latest in security technology to third-party consumer sales channels.”
