Prosegur Compania de Seguridad : net profit grows by almost 7% in the first half of the year, reaching €66 million

Madrid, 31st July 2014. - Prosegur, one of the leading companies in the private security industry worldwide, generated a consolidated net profit of €66 million in the first half of the year, equal to a 6.6% increase over the same period the year before. Earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) reached €130 million and the operation margin improves, reaching 7.2%.

As for turnover, Prosegur managed to generate sales of €1,810 million in the first half of the year, 14% over sales of 2013, excluding the exchange rate effect.

By geographical area, revenues in the regions of Europe and Asia-Pacific also increased by 7.2% over the same period the year before, totalling €778 million. This growth is due to the good performance of the business in Germany (an increase of 33%) and in France (almost 3% over the year before). The trend in Spain is positive and the drop in sales has been less remarkable (5%), which is less than half of the decrease of previous periods. These data improve the average for the private security sector in our country, which has experienced a steady decline in earnings since the beginning of the economic crisis. In relation to the Asia-Pacific market, where the Company has been present since 2011, we must highlight the strengthening of business activity with an organic growth above 9%.

On the other hand, turnover increased in Latin America by almost 18% at a constant rate, reaching €1,032 million, despite the impact of the devaluation of the main currencies in the region and the seasonality which affects the industry. Brazil, with an organic growth in revenues of 10%, and Colombia, also increasing organic sales by 30%, are some of the markets exhibiting the best performance.

Optimisation of the debt structure
During this period, Prosegur has entered into a syndicated loan agreement for €400 million with a single repayment over five years. With this transaction, carried out last June, the Company has managed to reduce its financing cost to 3.6%, to improve its liquidity and reinforce its financial structure.

In this regard, in the last twelve months, the net profit to cash conversion rate reached 154%, whereas net debt was at €614 million. Prosegur will continue working to maintain these cash generation levels and to improve the margins.

Results by business line
The Company offers integral security services via thee lines of business: Manned Guarding, Cash in Transit and Technology and it has focused on specialization and innovation in order to offer more efficient solutions. During the first half of the year, Prosegur reached a turnover of €819 million in Manned Guarding. By region, in Europe and Asia-Pacific, this activity has helped soften the fall experienced the previous quarter, to a level of 3%, whereas in Latin America, due to the impact of currency devaluation, sales dropped by 4%, to €404 million.

The Cash in Transit line reached a turnover of €790 million, accounting for an increase of 2% over 2013. In Europe and Asia-Pacific, sales increased by more than 33%, up to €248 million, and in Latin America sales fall by 8%, reaching €542 million.

Lastly, in the Technology area, which includes integral security and fire protection systems, as well as residential and small business alarms, the Company reached revenues of €200 million. By geographical area, Prosegur grew by over 3% in Europe and Asia-Pacific, having billed over €114 million, whereas revenues in Latin America were around €86 million.

Prosegur's social cash flow
During this period Prosegur has presented its 2013 Annual Report, which covers the various actions implemented by the Company during the past year, in order to show how its activity helps towards sustainable social development.

Prosegur's business generates an economic and social footprint in the communities where it carries on its business activity. In this document, the Company has provided details of its social cash flow or distribution of revenues generated in 2013. Therefore, 67% of this amount was used for employees. Another 26% was used for suppliers of goods and services, whereas capital suppliers received 4%. Moreover, over €2 million were used for community projects carried out by the Prosegur Foundation.

In the preparation of its Annual Report, the Company has applied the criteria defined in the new G4 Guidelines of the Global Report Initiative (GRI), an independent international organisation driving the preparation of sustainability reports in all kind of entities. Prosegur has carried out a preliminary study to determine the most relevant sustainability and corporate responsibility criteria for the security sector and has taken into consideration the standards of several international entities such as the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) or the United Nations Global Compact.

Additional information:

Relevant Facts: 2Q2014 Results Presentation