COMMENTS FROM THE PRESIDENT AND CEO
The positive organic sales growth continued in North America, Ibero-America and inMobileand Monitoring. The organic sales growth inLatin America, an important area in the new business segment Security Services Ibero-America, is developing strongly and amounted to 24 percent during the period. The loss of a few important contracts has hampered the growth in Security Services Europe. Including acquisitions, the real sales growth in the Group was 13 percent in the quarter and 11 percent for the first half year.
The operating margin remains stable in North America, Ibero-America and inMobileand Monitoring, and the real change of the operating income compared to previous year is developing well. In Security Services Europe, the loss of a few major contracts and difficulties to manage the balance between wage increases and price increases have resulted in a non-satisfactory development and actions are taken to restore the performance. The balance of labor markets recovering and competitive market conditions must be managed with prudence, and being the market leader in many European markets, we will continue to prioritize profitability rather than market share.
The recent large acquisitions in the United Kingdom, that give us an improved presence and strength in the UK security market, are developing as expected even if they dilute the operating margin during 2011.
Alf Göransson
President and Chief Executive Officer
FINANCIAL INFORMATION
PRESENTATION OF THE INTERIM REPORT
An information meeting will be held on August 5, 2011, at 9.30 a.m. CET.
The information meeting will take place at Securitas‘ head office, Lindhagensplan 70,Stockholm.
The meeting will be webcast at www.securitas.com/webcasts
To participate in the telephone conference during the information meeting, please dial in five minutes prior to the start of the conference call, from:
TheUnited States: +1 866 458 4087
Sweden: + 46 (0) 8 505 598 53
United Kingdom: + 44 (0) 203 043 2436
A recorded version of the webcast will be available at www.securitas.com/webcasts after the meeting.
For further information, please contact:
Micaela Sjökvist, Head of Investor Relations,
+46 10 470 3013
Gisela Lindstrand, Senior Vice President Corporate Communications and Public Affairs
+46 10 470 3011
Securitas is a knowledge leader in security, focusing on providing security solutions to fit each customer’s needs in 45 countries in North America, Europe, Latin America, Asia, Middle East andAfrica. Everywhere from small stores to airports, our 280,000 employees are making a difference.
SecuritasABdiscloses the information provided herein pursuant to the Securities Markets Act and/or the Financial Instruments Trading Act. The information was submitted for publication at 8.00 a.m. (CET) on Friday, August 5, 2011.
