Healthcare reform in the U SA a challen g e In 2012 a six - y ear trend of positiv e gro wth in oper - atin g income in Securit y Ser vices North America w as brok en due to inte gr ation problems from acquisitions in the feder al g o v ernment ser vices se gment , a w eak y ear for P ink erton Corpor ate Risk M ana g ement and lo w er e xtr a sales compared to the pre vious y ear . The ma jor challen g e in the U SA in 2013 is handlin g the requirements of the Afor dable Care Act , that is, the American healthcare reform, which enter s into force on Januar y 1, 2014. The ma jorit y of our securit y ofcer s in the U SA do not ha v e health - care and when the reform b e c o m e s a r e a l i t y i t w i l l r e s u l t i n s i g n i f c a n t l y hig her cos ts – cos ts that w e will not alw a ys be able to pass on to our cus tomer s. W e will continue to ofer our cus tomer s hig h-qualit y securit y solutions, but with a hig her content of intellig ent video monitorin g in or der to decrease or eliminate cos t increases and to protect our mar g ins. T o be prepared, w e will e x ecute signifcant in v es t - ments and tr ainin g eforts in the U SA in 2013. R eco v er y in Europe Securit y Ser vices Europe reco v ered in 2012 from a w eak 2011. Oper atin g income w as M SEK 1 102 (1 009) and the oper atin g mar g in impro v ed to 4.1 percent (3.9), partly due to s tron g de v elopment in Bel g ium, F r ance and G erman y . Despite ne gativ e or ganic sales gro wth in F r ance of -7 percent , Securit y Ser vices Europe grew b y 1 percent . The mark et conditions in F r ance increasin g ly appear to be mo vin g in the same direction as Spain and the ma jorit y of F rench securit y companies are loss -makin g. Therefore , in 2012 Securit as Ser vices i n F r a n c e successfully implemented necessar y price increases, which had a ne gativ e impact on gro wth, but impro v ed oper atin g income b y appro x - imately 25 percent compared to 2011. W e are increasin g the pace In 2012, technolog ical securit y solutions cons ti- tuted 6 percent of Securit as ’ tot al sales. W e ha v e set a t ar g et to triple this share of sales, which I consider achie v able b y the end of 2015. The technology is there , as is the kno wled g e and the mark et , and w e kno w that more technology decreases the cus tomer s ’ tot al cos t for a satisfac- tor y securit y solution. W e are no w r ampin g up our eforts, realizin g the hurr y and set tin g e v en hig her ambitions. No one competin g in the internationally kno wn ski r ace V asaloppet reaches the fnish line in the villa g e of M or a b y focusin g on reachin g the half - w a y point . No one , not e v en with a n e x c e l l e n t f t n e s s le v el, can fnish a mar athon if the focus is wron g. W e ha v e focus, the t ar g et is clear and the speed is up . The journe y has be gun. W e are t akin g the lead. Stockholm, M arch 15, 2013 Alf G or ansson President and CEO Securit as AB 6 Securit as Annual R eport 2012 CEO s t atement