Fourth quarter
Net sales for the fourth quarter reached SEK 571 m (405), corresponding to an increase of 41%. Currency translations had a negative effect of SEK 7 m on net sales
Order intake was SEK 699 m (408), corresponding to an increase of 71%
Operating profit reached SEK 109 m (75), equal to a 19.2% (18.5) operating margin
Profit after taxes totalled SEK 86 m (57) and earnings per share was SEK 1.85 (1.21)
Cash flow from operating activities amounted to SEK 104 m (83)
HMS acquired minority shares in Connectitude AB.
Yearly
Net sales for the year reached SEK 1,972 m (1,467), corresponding to a 34% increase. Currency translations had a negative effect of SEK 75 m on net sales
Order intake was SEK 2,538 m (1,447), corresponding to an increase of 75%
Operating profit was SEK 446 m (288), equal to a 22.6% (19.6) operating margin
Profit after taxes totalled SEK 362 m (220) and earnings per share was SEK 7.61 (4.79)
Cash flow from operating activities amounted to SEK 508 m (370)
HMS acquired 60% of the shares in Owasys Advanced Wireless Devices S.L.
The Board of Directors propose a dividend to the amount of SEK 3.00 (2.00) per share
Comment from the CEO A strong finish to the record year 2021
The strong market demand from previous quarters continued in the fourth quarter. Furthermore, we had a temporary improvement during the quarter in the availability of semiconductor components that increased our delivery capacity. In total, this resulted in a new quarterly record with an order intake of SEK 699 million, and sales of SEK 571 million, which corresponds to an increase of 71% in order intake and 41% in sales compared to the same quarter last year. Operating profit ends up at SEK 109 million, which is an increase of 46%.
We can thus close a fantastic 2021 with impressive annual figures. An order intake of SEK 2,538 million, corresponding to a growth of 75% and a record turnover of SEK 1,972 million, an increase of 34% of which 26% is organic growth. Our operating profit reaches a new record level of SEK 446 million, which corresponds to a growth of 55% compared to the previous year. Notable is also our strong cash flow during the year, which amounts to SEK 508 million, an increase of 38% compared to the previous year.
A strong cash flow and a strong balance sheet create good conditions for future investments, both organically and through acquisitions.
Good growth in all of our geographic markets
All of our geographic markets continue to show good growth in both order intake and sales, primarily driven by increasing investments in automation, digitization, energy efficiency and remote monitoring of industrial machines. Apart from increased productivity in industrial applications, we also see an increased focus on sustainability as an underlying reason for the high investment rate.
We see the largest increase in Continental Europe, which has more than doubled its organic order intake in the quarter. Just like previous quarters, it is a combination of high investments pace and compensation for longer lead times and component uncertainty that is behind the development. We can see that the markets in Continental Europe that had the toughest 2020 have shown the strongest recovery in 2021.
Continued great uncertainty regarding semiconductors
There is still a great deal of uncertainty and problems regarding the supply of various semiconductor components, especially processors. During the quarter, we succeeded in solving several of our challenges in the short term and therefore managed to deliver better volumes than expected. For the coming quarters, we see a continued shortage of components and we believe that our delivery capacity will remain volatile.
As in the third quarter, we see an impact on our gross margin as an effect of cost increases on components and a continued need for component supply in the spot market. The gross margin ended at 60.8% (61.6).
During the second half of 2021, we made price increases that mostly will have effect at the turn of the year 2021/2022. We have chosen not to change already confirmed orders, which means that we believe in a gradual improvement in the gross margin as our price increases take effect in 2022.
Order book strengthened by pre-order
The strong market situation in combination with longer lead times and the previous-mentioned challenges in component supply leads to customers continuing to place orders further into the future. We continue to build an order book which now amounts to SEK 864 million, strengthened by an estimated SEK 200 million from pre-orders in the quarter. We see this as a direct consequence of the current supply chain situation, which does not reflect underlying demand. Of this year's order intake, we estimate that approximately SEK 500 million are orders placed in advance due to the supply chain contraints in the market.
Stable inflow of new Design Wins
Despite the fact that many of our customers have been forced to work on modifying their existing products in order to be able to deliver and thus in the short term reduced their focus on new development, interest in HMS solutions has remained high. For those of our products sold according to our Design-Win business model, approximately 43% of HMS sales, we can see a continued stable flow of new customers in 2021. In total, we received 174 (165) new Design-Wins during the year, and that the total number of active Design Wins now amounts to 1,790 (1,820). Of these, 1,447 (1,418) are in production, while 343 (402) are expected to go into production in the coming years.
Acquisitions and strategic collaborations
Spanish Owasys, which HMS acquired 60% of on July 1, has developed well and several technology and marketing projects have already been started together with HMS.
During the quarter, we acquired a minority of Swedish Connectitude AB, and we ha
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
02/05/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
01/05/2026
January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...
01/04/2026
January 4 2026, 18:00 (PST) DOLBY AND DOUYIN EMPOWER THE NEXT GENERATON OF CREATORS WITH DOLBY VISION
Douyin Users Can Now Create And Share Videos With Stun...
26/03/2026
Extron and Audio-Technica have announced that their Design Solutions devices, Ce...
26/03/2026
SPORTEL Asia took place March 24-25 at the Orchard Hotel Singapore, drawing 370 participants representing more than 220 companies from 35 countries. Approximate...
26/03/2026
LTN will demonstrate satellite-to-IP migration solutions for broadcasters, cable networks, MVPDs, and station groups at NAB Show 2026 (Booth W2100).
The C-Ban...
26/03/2026
The Seattle Mariners have partnered with Daktronics to install an upgraded outfi...
26/03/2026
The Esports Foundation (EF) has awarded National Team Partner status to organizations and individuals across more than 100 countries and territories for the Esp...
26/03/2026
Telestream has announced expanded integration between its Vantage workflow platf...
26/03/2026
FOR-A Corporation has announced a partnership with Nippon TV and NVIDIA to distr...
26/03/2026
CBS Sports and the WNBA have expanded their partnership through a new long-term, multiplatform rights agreement. CBS Sports will feature up to 20 regular-season...
26/03/2026
Zac Brown Band will star in the Sunday Night Baseball show open on NBC and Peacock, NBC Sports announced. The open was filmed at American Family Field, home of ...
26/03/2026
Major League Baseball opens the 2026 season with nationally televised games across multiple media partners. Fans can visit MLB.com/Watch for a complete schedule...
26/03/2026
DIRECTV has announced an agreement to carry nine new MLB-operated team channels, covering the Cincinnati Reds, Detroit Tigers (Detroit SportsNet), Kansas City R...
26/03/2026
Nationals.TV, the Washington Nationals' local broadcast channel, is now avai...
26/03/2026
Starting Thursday, March 26, MLB.TV will be available on the ESPN App, giving fans access to more than 2,000 out-of-market regular season games. Fans can also r...
26/03/2026
Spotify's partnership with NAVER, Korea's leading digital platform, is built around one simple goal: making it easier for listeners in Korea to discover...
26/03/2026
Exclusive to ComposerCloud for first month
Sample library and virtual instrument gurus EastWest have announced the upcoming release of a new virtual drum i...
26/03/2026
Friday 27 March
Friday 27 March will mark Dynamic Range Day 2026, the annual day of online activity that was started in 2010 by mastering engineer Ian Sheph...
26/03/2026
Includes four separate instruments
Max Richter's SRM Sounds venture have just announced their fifth release, ASMR Choir. Captured at the main live room ...
26/03/2026
The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF), an agency of the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture (DSAC), has been tasked with administering the Sixth Presi...
26/03/2026
By Matt Klein
Hello to everyone reading this - whether you're a current YEP, HPA member, or just YEP-curious. I'm Matt Klein, one of the co-chairs of t...
26/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
26/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
26/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
26/03/2026
28 participating companies, from start-ups to blue-chips, lead the UK Group as part of the GREAT Britain and Northern Ireland presence across all the Halls at N...
26/03/2026
Arkona Unveils BLADE//planner and Major Usability Enhancements at NAB 2026
Brie Clayton March 26, 2026
0 Comments
New graphical configuration tool and...
26/03/2026
Bitfocus showcases complete control at NAB Show 2026
Brie Clayton March 26, 2026
0 Comments
Continuing development drives advances in security, availa...
26/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
26/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
26/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
26/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
26/03/2026
Nevion introduces powerful new Panel Builder to enhance VideoIPath broadcast con...
26/03/2026
2026 Oscar Nominated Films Powered by Blackmagic Design
Brie Clayton March 25, 2026
0 Comments
DaVinci Resolve Studio used on 27 of this year's no...
26/03/2026
Leader to present full suite of advanced Test & Measurement solutions at NAB Sho...
26/03/2026
Boston Conservatory to Present New England and Collegiate Premiere of Groundbrea...
26/03/2026
Thursday 26 March 2026
HBO Max included for Sky and NOW customers from 26 March...
26/03/2026
Thursday 26 March 2026
Sky Sets Iconic Costumes Dancing Together Like Never Before' in Brand CampaignTurn on cookies to view this content. Go to Privacy o...
26/03/2026
Wuppertal March 26, 2026
CS live Builds Future-Ready OB Van With Riedel MediorNet and hi Control SystemRiedel Communications today announced that Czech-based ...
26/03/2026
Back to All News
Have a Wish Worth Dying For? Netflix's First Korean YA Hor...
26/03/2026
Back to All News
The Truthers, Starring Jose Coronado and St phanie Magnin, Pre...
26/03/2026
Enhancements to Harmonic's Sports Streaming Solution Introduce Server-Side Multiview, Contextual Metadata-Driven Advertising, Dynamic In-Stream Ads and Robu...
26/03/2026
Open the report
Our 2025 report brings together results from 79 business magazine titles across 22 market sectors, published by 49 media owners. Over the year,...
26/03/2026
Editor's note: This post is part of Into the Omniverse, a series focused on ...
26/03/2026
RT Commercial today announced Fiat as sponsor of The Louise Duffy Show on RT Radio 1, Weekdays 3pm 4pm.
The Louise Duffy Show is the home of daytime music...
26/03/2026
That gaming backlog won't clear itself - GeForce NOW is here to help. Stream the latest titles straight from the cloud across a variety of devices.
This we...
26/03/2026
Wayne, N.J., March 26, 2026 Phantom High-Speed announces the latest product li...
Fourth quarter 
