The UK and Ireland arm of the multi-national security contract firm G4S did relatively poorly compared with other parts of the world, according to the multi-national’s full year results for 2016.
Revenue from ’emerging markets’, namely India, Asia, Latin America and Africa, was up 5.4pc to £2564m. Europe saw a year on year rise of 4.6pc, to £1224m, while the UK and Ireland only had a year on year rise of 1.5pc, to £1218m. That rise was due mainly the firm reported to a new global security contract for a major bank and new facilities management services in Ireland. New contracts won include facilities management and integrated security solutions contracts in healthcare, and the company renewed all major rebid ‘cash solutions’ contracts awarded during 2016. The firm described its UK and Ireland bidding pipeline as broad-based and said it had grown in facilities management, care and justice, secure transportation and cash outsourcing.
G4S Chief Executive Officer Ashley Almanza said: “We made good progress with our transformation strategy in 2016 and our continuing businesses delivered revenue growth of 6.3 per cent and earnings growth of 16.6pc. We now have much stronger foundations, growing competitive capabilities and an attractive array of market opportunities. Our transformation strategy is expected to produce further performance improvements and underpins our aim of delivering sustainable, profitable growth.”
In the ‘Secure Solutions’ arm of the company, G4S says that over the medium term it expects to extract greater efficiencies through automated, lean business processes; and will be piloting those in Ireland during 2017.
In 2016 the firm won new contracts with an annual value of £1.3 billion; the same as in 2015. In 2013, the firm began a ‘transformation’ under the present CEO, after the previous chief Nick Buckles left after the embarrassing and public last-minute shortfall in security guards contracted for the London 2012 Olympics. In 2016 G4S closed four businesses and sold a further 12, realising proceeds of £82m, including £52m for its UK Utilities business and reached agreement for the sale of G4S Israel for £88m.
According to the annual report, last year the Group made good progress with its transformation strategy. “We now have much stronger foundations, growing competitive capabilities and an attractive array of market opportunities. We believe that the long-term demand for our core services remains positive and that the Group’s transformation strategy will produce further performance improvements and underpin our aim of delivering sustainable, profitable growth.”
For the results in full visit the G4S website.
