COMMENTS FROM THE PRESIDENT AND CEO
The organic sales growth in 2012 was 0 percent due to weak market conditions in many markets and negative organic sales growth in France, Portugal and Spain. The slowdown in organic and acquired sales growth has, combined with strong focus on cash flow and receivables, contributed to the strong free cash flow of MSEK 2 086 in the Group in 2012. This has resulted in a free cash flow to net debt ratio of 0.21, thereby we have achieved our financial target of at least 0.20.
The operating margin in Security Services North America and Security Services Europe has gradually improved during the year, even though Security Services Europe and Mobile and Monitoring in the fourth quarter were impacted by items which can be categorized as one-off adjustments. In addition, the major restructuring and cost savings program that was executed at high speed from mid October until mid December impacted the performance negatively.
The cost savings program in North America, Europe and Spain was in all material aspects finalized in December 2012. The restructuring cost amounted to MSEK –458 and was recognized in the fourth quarter 2012. The savings are confirmed to be MSEK 370 in 2013, net of additional investments in resources within technology and security solutions.
We continue to increase our investments in resources within technology and security solutions, and in 2012 the sales of technology and security solutions represented approximately 6 percent of Group sales. We have set a target to triple this share of sales, which I consider achievable by the end of 2015
Alf Göransson
President and Chief Executive Officer
FINANCIAL INFORMATION
PRESENTATION OF THE full year REPORT
An information meeting will be held on February 8, 2013, at 9.30 a.m. (CET).
The information meeting will take place at Securitas‘ head office at Lindhagensplan 70 in 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:
The United States:+ 1 866 682 8490
Sweden: + 46 (0) 8 506 307 79
United Kingdom: + 44 (0) 844 571 8957
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 global knowledge leader in security. From a broad range of services of specialized guarding, technology solutions and consulting and investigations, we customize offerings that are suited to the individual customer’s needs, in order to deliver the most effective security solutions. Everywhere from small stores to airports, our 300 000 employees are making a difference.
Securitas AB discloses the information provided herein pursuant to the Securities Markets Act and/or the Financial Instruments Trading Act. The information was submitted for publication at 08.00 a.m. (CET) on Friday, February 8, 2013.
