“Looking beyond the positive impact of lower restructuring costs, the improvement in second-quarter earnings was driven by strong results in Brink’s U.S. and South American operations. Profits in Europe continue to be constrained by weak results in the United Kingdom and several other countries,” says Michael Dan, chairman, president and CEO of The Brink’s Co. “Based on our solid first-half results, we continue to expect that Brink’s Inc. will achieve an annual operating margin for 2006 approaching 7percent, with percentage revenue growth in the high single-digits. Second-quarter results at Brink’s Home Security also improved. Despite a slowdown in new installations during the second quarter, we expect 2006 revenue and profit growth of about 10 percent. We also expect to see a pick-up in new installations in the third quarter.” Brink’s attributes the improved results to higher profits generated by Brink’s Inc., the company’s secure transportation and cash management business. This is due to stronger performance in North and South America, which has more than offset the continued market weakness in certain European countries. An increase in profits for Brink’s Inc. was also realized because of higher profits realized by Brink’s Home Security, lower interest expense, lower expenses as it relates to former operations and a lower overall tax rate. “During the quarter, we delivered on our promise to return cash to shareholders by completing a tender offer that resulted in the repurchase of 10.4 million shares for $530.2 million, raised our dividend, and repurchased an additional 648,000 shares for about $35 million. “Our day-to-day focus continues to be on improving results in Europe, but we are also pursuing new opportunities to create value for our shareholders,” says Dan.
