W e are No w Ramping U p our T echnology In v e s tments 2012 w as a dif ficult y ear . W e entered the y ear with confident s trides, but w e faced a dif ficult fir s t six months of the y ear , lar g ely due to w eak de v elopment in cert ain areas of the U .S . oper ations and deterior atin g mark et conditions, particularly in Spain. Durin g the second half of the y ear w e implemented an e xtensiv e res tructurin g progr am and w e are no w facin g the future as a much s tron g er compan y . The g lobal securit y mark et grew b y 5 percent in 2012. In Europe and North America, where Securit as has appro ximately 95 percent of its sales, the mark et gro wth w as more or less fat . The macroeconomic health will probably not impro v e noticeably in the comin g y ear , and the indication r ather seems to be that w e should assume that the problems in some countries will per sis t and additional complications ma y arise . Difcult mark et situation in southern Europe Durin g 2012 w e had ne gativ e or ganic sales gro wth of -17 percent in Spain, -12 percent in Portugal and -7 percent in F r ance . These three countries correspond to around 17 percent of the Group ’ s tot al sales. F or e xample , w e ha v e left a number of ma jor assignments in Spain due to ne gativ e mar g ins, falterin g pa yment mor ale or the risk of not g et tin g paid at all. Sellin g a pure guar din g contr act in Spain toda y means ne gativ e oper atin g mar g ins. The only w a y to achie v e a mar g in is to ofer complete securit y solutions, which inte gr ate advisor y and consult ant ser vices, technology , a monitorin g center , call-out ser vices and manned guar din g. T o s tren g then our position and increase the share of securit y solutions in our cus tomer port folio , w e acquired a lar g e technology compan y in Spain in 2012 and also made signifcant in v es tments in technology competence . This mak es it possible for us to meet and de v elop our cus tomer s ’ securit y requirements, but it also means that w e will be s tron g er than mos t other s in the ne xt few y ear s a n d , therefore , w e can dare to in v es t . W e are no w bet ter equipped than e v er before , and w e ha v e the competence that is required to continue to be com- petitiv e and successful in these difcult mark ets. ORGANIC SALE S GRO W TH AND OPERA TING MARGIN, PER QU AR TER Operating margin Organic sales growth Q4 Q3 Q2 Q1 Q4 Q3 Q2 Q1 Q4 Q3 Q2 Q1 Q4 Q3 Q2 Q1 Q4 Q3 Q2 Q1 –4 –2 0 2 4 6 % 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 3 Securit as Annual R eport 2012 CEO s t atement