Securitas AB Q1 2021 Earnings Call Transcript

The following is excerpted from the question-and-answer section of the transcript.

Question: Andrew Charles Grobler - CrTdit Suisse AG, Research Division - Analyst : Just 3, if I may. Firstly, you talked about the SEK 200-and-so million from government supports during the quarter but also comments around provisions and bad debt, particularly in Latin America. Could you give a bit more detail about the movements in those items, please? Secondly, from the transformation programs and particularly in North America, are you starting to see benefits come through to either the cost base or the REFINITIV STREETEVENTS | www.refinitiv.com | Contact Us consent of Refinitiv. 'Refinitiv' and the Refinitiv logo are registered trademarks of Refinitiv and its affiliated companies. MAY 05, 2021 / 1:00PM, SECUb.ST - Q1 2021 Securitas AB Earnings Call business? I know you completed some major elements of that program at the end of last year, and so is that apparent? And if not, when do you expect that to begin to flow through? And then thirdly and slightly related to the first one. The weakness in aviation is part of the driver of the relatively low organic growth. Can you just talk us through the balance between the government schemes on one side and the lower organic from aviation? Are those 2 sides of the same coin?

Question: Andrew Charles Grobler - CrTdit Suisse AG, Research Division - Analyst : And if I could just -- when do you think you'll have more -- I mean it's probably an impossible question, but when do you think you'll have more clarity about the aviation portfolio; and know what you're going to keep, what you're not going to keep and the kind of underlying profitability long term?

Question: Erik Paulsson - Nordea Markets, Research Division - Analyst : Yes. So I was wondering about your installation within electronic security. Obviously this was burdened as well in the quarter, Q1, but is it possible here to give an indication at what level this is running at compared where you want to be? So let's say where you want to be is at index level of 100. Where are you now in terms of installations?

Question: Erik Paulsson - Nordea Markets, Research Division - Analyst : So is it possible even to double or triple this from current state, so to say?

Question: Erik Paulsson - Nordea Markets, Research Division - Analyst : The installation activity compared to what you saw in Q1.

Question: Erik Paulsson - Nordea Markets, Research Division - Analyst : Understand. Just final question is on provisioning in the quarter. I don't think you gave a number in the actual report on that. Is -- what is that number in Q1?

Question: Erik Paulsson - Nordea Markets, Research Division - Analyst : No, your provision for...

Question: Katherine Somerville - UBS Investment Bank, Research Division - Analyst : 3 questions for me, please. So firstly, just on the U.S. The organic growth slowed down a little bit from last quarter, and I was just wondering what you think the main driver behind that was. [And then so as kind of linked to that], in terms of sort of extra COVID-related sales, how much did that impact to total organic growth? And how long do you expect that to continue? And then finally, just on those solutions-based contracts, you have -- what tends to be lag between the conversations that you're having at the moment and that coming through into growth?

Question: Katherine Somerville - UBS Investment Bank, Research Division - Analyst : Yes. So through last year, you did sort of extra COVID-related sales, so parts of the business that you benefited from the pandemic. Are you able to break down how much of that was in growth for the quarter?

Question: Katherine Somerville - UBS Investment Bank, Research Division - Analyst : Yes, yes. Sorry for being so unclear. So the question was, when you have your sort of -- you're having better conversations about those solutions-based contracts. I was just wondering what tends to be the lag between when you start discussing it and when that sort of comes into your organic growth and when those sort of get executed.

Question: Karl-Johan Bonnevier - DNB Markets, Research Division - Analyst : I noticed the extra disclaimers you put on the client retention excluding the effects of COVID-19. Maybe if you -- could you just elaborate a little what kind -- how big was that impact? Just to get a feel for, say, the fluid situation that you have needed to manage during the last 12 months.

Question: Karl-Johan Bonnevier - DNB Markets, Research Division - Analyst : Excellent. And when you look at looking at client retention for electronic security contracts irrespective guarding contracts, is there any meaningful deviations compared to the historical patterns there?

Question: Karl-Johan Bonnevier - DNB Markets, Research Division - Analyst : Excellent. And then finally, Bart, just all my best wishes for your next ventures in life. REFINITIV STREETEVENTS | www.refinitiv.com | Contact Us consent of Refinitiv. 'Refinitiv' and the Refinitiv logo are registered trademarks of Refinitiv and its affiliated companies. MAY 05, 2021 / 1:00PM, SECUb.ST - Q1 2021 Securitas AB Earnings Call

Question: Karl-Johan Bonnevier - DNB Markets, Research Division - Analyst : Look forward to that.