Having shored up its finances, Protection One Inc. is hanging onto even more of its customers — the latest signal that the provider of monitored-security services is on track for a strong year, company officials said Monday.

The Lawrence-based company said Monday that its annualized customer attrition rates for Protection One and other services had dropped during the first quarter from the corresponding three-month period a year earlier.

Overall, the annualized attrition rate for all services was 6.3 percent during the first three months, down from 9.1 percent from the same quarter a year earlier.

“We continue to push forward with our goal of achieving recurring revenue growth in 2005 while investing prudently to create high-quality customers who will be with us for the long term,” said Richard Ginsburg, president and chief executive officer.

Protection One’s recurring monthly revenue, as of March 31, was $19.9 million, down less than 1 percent from $20 million a year earlier, the company said.

The 2004 total was down 3.8 percent from $20.8 million in 2003, Protection One said, reflecting the “success of the company’s efforts to reduce attrition while adding (revenue) from desirable customers.”

Protection One has about 70 employees at its headquarters in the I-70 Business Center, plus an additional 630 employees in Kansas spread out among a monitoring center in Wichita and branch offices in Topeka and Lenexa. Nationwide, Protection One has about 2,400 employees.

The company last month closed on a $275 million refinancing plan designed to save the company $20 million in annual interest costs. Officials said the savings would be used to whittle down the company’s $360 million debt and invest in efforts to expand the business.

Protection One has more than 1 million customers in 65 markets. All but 3 percent of Protection One is owned by Quadrangle Group LLC, an investment firm.