The Securitas team has continued to show great resilience in a challenging situation, says the multi-national’s president and CEO, Magnus Ahlqvist, in the company’s interim report for the first half of 2021.
Magnus Ahlqvist, pictured, described second quarter of 2021 performance as ‘solid’ across the Group. Commercial activity and sales momentum is picking up in all business segments as lockdowns and restrictions are easing, he said. “The airport security business is gradually recovering and we continue to improve profitability by carefully reviewing every contract,” he said.
He spoke of a ‘challenging labour situation’, that is, shortage of security staff and ‘wage pressure’, particularly in the United States. Organic sales growth for the second quarter of 2021 was eight per cent, compared with minus four per cent for the same quarter last year. In the European arm of the firm, sales growth was also 8pc.
On the pandemic, he said: “The corona pandemic continues to be in focus in our day-to-day operations as we close the second quarter of 2021. While uncertainty remains regarding the longterm consequences of the pandemic, we are coming out stronger thanks to having taken action early.”
Security solutions and electronic security sales – which Securitas has stressed for years, as it looks to become more tech-based, giving higher margin than human guarding work – remain at 22pc of the overall sales. In Europe, the company’s airport security work has remained below pre-corona levels, ‘and we continue to review the airport security contract portfolio’, the report said.
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