Difficult market conditions in Spain and the margin decline in the US operations have been blamed by the multi-national Securitas for weak sales growth in the second quarter of 2012.ย The companyโs organic sales growth was zero in the second quarter. The operating margin in the second quarter was 0.5 per cent behind the previous year. The free cash flow improved significantly compared to the first six months last year, but the company will continue to be restrictive on acquisitions, said Alf Gรถransson, President and Chief Executive Officer.
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This is in contrast to Securitasโ acquisitions around the world in recent years, which in the UK included the guarding arms of Chubb and Reliance Security.ย
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Alf Gรถransson said: โMarket conditions in primarily Spain are deteriorating more rapidly than expected and we leave contracts due to uncertainty of customersโ ability to pay for the security services. In addition, the Spanish government has decided, as of August 1, 2012, to withdraw important subsidies on payroll taxes for certain categories of employees which will further increase our labor costs, and we are investigating what actions could be taken to mitigate the imposed cost increases. Thanks to the strengthened position in technology security solutions we are well equipped to face the harsh market environment in Spain and Portugal.โ ย ย
