Margins and profitability in investigation and private security activities

Revenue and operating profit

Revenue per employee is calculated on the 62 of 63 companies that report an employee count, as the median of the ratio within each company.

Median, not mean. A mean would be pulled up by the largest companies in the industry, and would say little about a typical one.

What companies in the industry earned

One tenth of companies fell below -2.1 %, and one tenth above 17.2 %. That is the real spread in the industry, not an average.

Top against weakest third

Top third

11.6 %

Weakest third

-1.0 %

Spread

13 percentage points

Equity ratio

24.6 %median of 62

Profitability by size

Companies are split into revenue bands, with the median margin in each. Bands with fewer than ten companies are omitted, because the median becomes too unstable to show.

Where the companies are based

The six postal towns with the most companies in this industry, by registered business address.

Who in the industry wins public contracts

25 of 63 companies in the industry have won at least one public contract since 2022, that is 39.7 %.

Those that win have median revenue of NOK 32m, against NOK 7.9m for those that do not. That is 4.1× as much. It describes who wins, not evidence that contracts make companies large; large companies also find it easier to bid.

Who puts them out to tender

The 86 contracts we find come most often from these buyers.

Contracts come from Doffin and TED. Our collection is not complete, and TED covers only contracts above the EEA threshold, so the figures are a floor and not a full count. We say what we find, not what exists.

Common questions about investigation and private security activities

What is a normal operating margin in investigation and private security activities?

The median operating margin was 4.6 %, meaning what was left of revenue once every cost had been paid. Half of the 63 companies in the sample were above it, and half below.

What separates the best from the weakest in investigation and private security activities?

The top third had an operating margin of 11.6 %, against -1.0 % for the weakest. The spread is 13 percentage points, within the same industry, the same country and the same year.

How many companies are there in investigation and private security activities in Norway?

We hold filed accounts for 63 Norwegian companies on this industry code with at least one million kroner in revenue. The real number is higher, since dormant and very small companies are excluded.

How much revenue does a company in Investigation and private security activities generate per employee?

The median company in Investigation and private security activities turns over NOK 204,000 per employee. The figure is calculated on the 62 of 63 companies that report an employee count.

How many are loss-making in investigation and private security activities?

25 % of the companies in the sample posted a negative operating result.

How large is a typical company in investigation and private security activities?

Median revenue is NOK 10.7m. Half of the companies fall between NOK 5m and NOK 45.6m.

How much do public contracts matter in investigation and private security activities?

25 of 63 companies, that is 39.7 %, have won at least one public contract since 2022. They have median revenue of NOK 32m, against NOK 7.9m for the rest.

• Tools→Tools and systems in investigation and private security activities
• Open tenders in this industry→Notices with a deadline still ahead, collected from Doffin and TED every morning.
• Check a company→Enter the name and see operating margin, equity and public contracts measured against everyone else in the same industry.

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