Securitas Q1 profit meets forecast as Europe margin lags
Shares down 4% after margin miss in Europe
Aviation business and systems integration weigh in Europe
European margin to improve in Q2
Q1 EBITA of SEK 2.36 billion meets expectations
Adds analyst quote, executive quote in paragraph 3, shares in paragraph 4
By Agata Rybska
May 8 (Reuters) -Core profit at Sweden's Securitas SECUb.ST rose 8% in the first-quarter year on year as expected on Wednesday but a dip in its profit margin in Europe on integration costs and challenges in airport security staffing knocked its share price.
The results were led by its performance in North America while the 5.0% margin it reported in Europe came in below the 5.1% a year ago, sending shares down around 4% by 0800 GMT.
"The margin in the European business actually disappointed and fell year over year, and I think that's seen a little bit negatively by the market," Kepler Cheuvreux analyst Johan Eliason said.
The company said it had intensified recruitment and training in its airport security business and was finalising the integration of Stanley Securities.
"We are expecting performance to improve in Q2 as we work through those transitions," CEO Magnus Ahlqvist said in a call with analysts.
The acquisition of Stanley Security, which the company closed in 2022, has added technology solutions exposure to Securitas's staff-intensive offering, but put it in significant debt, which the company has been trying to reduce.
Integration of the U.S. electronic security company realised further cost synergies, Ahlqvist said in a statement, although these were partly offset by operational cost increases from the transition.
Ahlqvist added Securitas is on the right path to achieving its target of an 8% operating margin by 2025.
Securitas, one of the world's biggest security services firms, posted an operating profit before amortisation (EBITA) of 2.36 billion Swedish crowns ($216.95 million).
This was against an analysts forecast of 2.33 billion, a poll published by the company showed, and up from 2.18 billion a year earlier. EBITA margin widened to 6.0% from 5.8%, slightly lagging the 6.1% expected by analysts.
($1 = 10.8781 Swedish crowns)
Reporting by Agata Rybska; editing by Philippa Fletcher
免責聲明: XM Group提供線上交易平台的登入和執行服務，允許個人查看和/或使用網站所提供的內容，但不進行任何更改或擴展其服務和訪問權限，並受以下條款與條例約束：（i）條款與條例；（ii）風險提示；（iii）完全免責聲明。網站內部所提供的所有資訊，僅限於一般資訊用途。請注意，我們所有的線上交易平台內容並不構成，也不被視為進入金融市場交易的邀約或邀請 。金融市場交易會對您的投資帶來重大風險。
所有缐上交易平台所發佈的資料，僅適用於教育/資訊類用途，不包含也不應被視爲適用於金融、投資稅或交易相關諮詢和建議，或是交易價格紀錄，或是任何金融商品或非應邀途徑的金融相關優惠的交易邀約或邀請。
本網站的所有XM和第三方所提供的内容，包括意見、新聞、研究、分析、價格其他資訊和第三方網站鏈接，皆爲‘按原狀’，並作爲一般市場評論所提供，而非投資建議。請理解和接受，所有被歸類為投資研究範圍的相關内容，並非爲了促進投資研究獨立性，而根據法律要求所編寫，而是被視爲符合營銷傳播相關法律與法規所編寫的内容。請確保您已詳讀並完全理解我們的非獨立投資研究提示和風險提示資訊，相關詳情請點擊 這裡查看。
