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The pandemic has presented challenges to the organisation, whose ability to adapt and be creative has been evident.
year are oem Electronics and Batteripoolen with growth close to 25%. oem Automatic, the Group's largest company, which is a good bellwether of the economic health of Swedish industry, reported sales growth of 11%. The operating profit (ebita) rose 32 % as a result of the growth and a stronger gross margin. In the Finland, Baltic States and China region, sales increased by 14 % and incoming orders by 25%. All operations have delivered strong performances with RauHeat and Akkupojat reporting sales growth of 25% and 24% respectively. Hide-a-lite and oem Electronics achieved growth in excess of 20% and oem Automatic, the largest of the operations, reported an increase in sales of 12 %. The operations in the Baltic states and China have also performed strongly with growth of 24% and 22% respectively. The operating profit (ebita) rose 42% as a result of the strong sales growth and improved gross margin. Region Denmark, Norway, the UK and East Central Europe reported a 14% increase in sales and incoming orders rose 27 %. The strongest performance was delivered by the UK operations where total growth was 33%. The operations in Slovakia and Poland also reported healthy growth figures of 25% and 16 % respectively. Profitability was driven by the growth and the operating profit (ebita) rose 43%.
Acquisitions A number of potential acquisition targets were identified and discussed during 2021. The jump starter trading operations of Norwegian Export Import AS in Norway were purchased in October. The business has a turnover of SEK 5 million and its sales have been integrated into Svenska Batteripoolen AB. The acquisition of Demesne Electrical Sales Ltd in Ireland was made in early January 2022. The company had a turnover of approximately SEK 205 million with an operating profit of around SEK 26 million in 2021. The company is a leading distributor of electrical control, energy-saving and installation products. Demesne uses several of the same suppliers as other oemcompanies and runs a similar business model. The acquired business is an excellent complement to the Group and allows oem to establish a presence in a new, interesting market.
Digitalisation is helping to streamline business
us to provide customers with a good standard of service during the pandemic. The efficiency and quality of internal processes have improved. Today, business meetings are held both physically and electronically which has increased efficiency greatly. It is possible to measure the effect of digitalisation as sales per employee. In 2019, the figure was SEK 3.76 million and in 2021 it was SEK 4.26 million.
Dividend oem's philosophy is to pay dividends to the extent considered reasonable, taking into account the company's financial position, investment needs and potential acquisitions. The proposal for the 2021 financial year is a dividend of SEK 2.75 per share combined with a redemption share of SEK 3.25 per share. This is equivalent to 91 % of earnings per share after tax and a direct return of 3.2 % based on oem's year-end share price. The proposed dividend means that, for the second consecutive year, oem is paying an extraordinary dividend and that the ordinary dividend has been increased on average by 12 % each year over the last 13 years.
Uncertain global environment creates a challenging market situation The pandemic has presented challenges to the organisation, whose ability to adapt and be creative has been evident. The geopolitical tensions currently playing out in Europe have created a new instability and the consequences are difficult to predict. Our role as a trading company is to maintain close contact with customers and suppliers and adapt our strategies as and when required so we can serve our customers in the best possible way, and also to seek new opportunities for conducting business and promoting the future growth of customers and suppliers. Even in these troubled times, I am confident that the creativity, loyalty and commitment found in our organisation will ensure that the Group continues to evolve and grow stronger. Tranås, March 2022
Jörgen Zahlin Managing Director and CEO, OEM International AB.
There has been continued investment in digital platforms and their use has helped drive efficiencies across the operations and enabled
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