The world of security is also a continuous battle for added value, margins and profitability. Built on the traditional business of the street security guard, very labor intensive, Prosegur is making progress in this particular battle and has become something of a premium group in the sector. It has managed to go beyond low cost thanks to technology and also to an international commitment that has taken it to Latin America, the United States, Germany or Australia. The result is a company that beats inflation in profitability and that, after the pandemic, has been positioned in key businesses, including cybersecurity.
Created in 1976 by Herberto Gut to transport money in vans, the group took its first step towards private security, which was followed years later, in 1987, by its going public. In 1995 he made the leap to Latin America, and in 2004, Cristina Revoredo, widow of the founder, took the reins of the company, which has not stopped growing and which in 2017 also took its cash management subsidiary, Prosegur, public. Cash.
With Christian Gut, son of Herberto Gut and Cristina Revoredo, as CEO, Prosegur is now highly technologically oriented. It has partnered with Movistar to challenge Securitas Direct for the alarm business and has launched new businesses, each one more oriented towards innovation. Its stock market value exceeds 850 million euros, while that of Prosegur Cash, in which Prosegur has 79% of the capital, reaches 925 million. All this progression has taken place without the founding family, which has 59% of Prosegur's shares, losing control.
At the end of last year, the group had a presence in 31 countries and employed 150,000 people. Its income was around 4,200 million euros, while net profit stood at 65 million. It also had 100,000 guards, 100,000 ATMs throughout the world and 10,000 vehicles, apart from 835,000 alarms.
One of the challenges is turning this large staff structure into a profitable machine. For every 64 euros that Prosegur bills, only one becomes net profit, which reflects the operational complexity of the business and the penny-by-penny battle for efficiency. For this reason, in times of rising prices, beating inflation becomes a great victory.
"Our extraordinary growth exceeds inflation and the increase in GDP", was one of the main messages from its financial director, Maite Rodríguez, before analysts at the recent presentation of the group's half-yearly results. "The trend is for resilient growth in our most relevant business areas" and "organic growth without raising debt."
Revenues for the first semester increased by 9.7%, to 2,196 million euros, while profit stood at 35 million, 13.7% more. Gross operating profit (ebitda) was 244 million, 11.9% more.
The results are good and completely leave behind the difficulties of the pandemic. In times of rampant inflation, from the companies stand out the increase in profitability, the strong progression of cash flow and some advances such as the approval of the purchase of assets in Australia. These are the great milestones of a company that, after entering the United States, does not think of large acquisitions, but of the most efficient management possible.
The steps are now being taken by Prosegur with one foot in Latin America, where it is a leader, and another in technology, which it trusts to provide added value that is differential for the business. The activity in Latin America, with 1,087 million in revenues and a growth of 43% in local currency, is not only the one that contributes the most to the group, ahead of Spain and the rest of Europe, but is also now leading growth.
Diversification also occurs through the different business areas. In organic terms, the listed cash management subsidiary Prosegur Cash grew 33%, while the security subsidiary grew 20%, the alarm subsidiary 42% and the technology company Avos 11.9%. Only the cybersecurity area, Cipher, is down, with a decline of 5.2%.
