A staggering 51% of the UK security industry will be unable to afford the 4.1% average wage increase estimated across the sector in 2004. Salary negotiations are set to be "fraught".
That is the major finding of market analyst Plimsoll Publishing's latest analysis examining the financial performance of the Top 1,000 UK security companies.

With the average salary in the industry set to rise from £23,440 through to £24,390, the implications may seem trivial. However, the Plimsoll research has concluded that with profit margins at a record low and a staggering 25% of the industry already loss-making, any increase in salary costs would be foolhardy.

The fact is that many of the industry's Top 1,000 players cannot afford the extra cost.

The key issue for half of those companies is that they seem to be losing the productivity race. A simple calculation sums this up. The amount of sales these companies generate per employee is £35,618. The most productive companies generate over three times this figure at £114,004, or around 50% of sales on salaries.

Compounding the issue still further, the Plimsoll analysis has also placed nearly 40% of the 1,000 major players in 'financial danger'. That situation means the security companies have severe financial constraints, making any extra costs simply unsustainable.

Source

SMT