The multi-national security company Securitas is well positioned to take advantage of the ‘paradigm shift’ in the security industry. So said the company’s President and CEO Alf Göransson in Stockholm.
Göransson points to a gradual increase in the use of technology in security in Europe and North America.
Alf Göransson says: “This trend will likely continue for the next few years. Historically, the security market has grown 1 to 2 percent faster than GDP in mature markets. Today’s slower growth rate could be accelerated if the degree of outsourcing of currently insourced security services were to increase as the role of technology becomes more important in enhancing security levels. The rate could also be improved through an enlargement of the security market since the private security industry could, to a larger extent, take over services currently performed by public authorities, governments and other entities.
“As the pace accelerates, Securitas will be able to gain market shares by having a stronger and more cost-efficient offering than many guarding companies, and thus have a higher organic growth rate than the security market average. This supports us reaching our target of an average growth of earnings per share of 10 percent annually.”
What the firm calls ‘security solutions and technology’ accounted for 6 percent of Group sales in 2012 and 7.5 percent for the third quarter of 2013. Securitas has set a target to triple this figure by year-end 2015. The capital spend on site equipment needed to do that will be offset by a slower rate of acquisitions.
Also speaking to investors were Erik-Jan Jansen, COO, Security Services Europe; Bart Adam, CFO; Luis Posadas, Divisional President, Security Services Ibero-America; Santiago Galaz, Divisional President, Security Services North America; and Antonio Villaseca Lòpez, SVP, Technical Solutions.
