Hej och varmt välkomna till denna digitala sändning som vi gör i samband med årsstämman 2022. Mitt namn är Johan Andersson och ansvarar för investerarrelationer här på Husqvarna Group. När vi planerade för årets stämma så befann vi oss i ett helt annat läge med den globala pandemin och därför beslöt att göra årets stämma digital. Men för att ge er en bättre inblick hur det gick för oss föregående år så har vi bjudit in både styrelsens ordförande Tom Johnstone och också bolagets vd Henric Andersson som ska presentera utvecklingen under föregående år. Jag skulle vilja börja med att bjuda in dig Tom för att presentera vår utveckling under föregående år.
Thank you, Johan. I truly appreciate this opportunity. Dear shareholders, board colleagues, Husqvarna colleagues, ladies and gentlemen. My name is Tom Johnstone, and I'm chair of Husqvarna's Board of Directors. Last year, when we met in this format, I said that due to the vaccine rollout, I could see a light at the end of the tunnel, but we should be prepared for a few turns along the way. I think we can now see, looking back, there was more than a few turns along the way. I really feel that we're now exiting this tunnel. As we exit this tunnel, we must remain aware, both personally and professionally, because there'll be a lot of new variants coming along.
We've been doing that within the Husqvarna Group during the last year, being very aware, but also at the same time, seeing how we can increase the focus on bringing value to our customers and also value to you, our shareholders. I'll talk about that a little bit later. While we're exiting the COVID tunnel, we are faced with a new, much more alarming situation, the Russian invasion into Ukraine. We condemn that action, and we've been taking steps to protect our people within both countries and also our very important long-term customers. We have stopped all deliveries into Russia, and we've taken Russia away from being one of our strategic investment areas. Now, we'll continue to monitor the situation, and we'll continue to take the necessary steps that we see to protect our people, but also to protect our partners.
An added effect to the war is the impact it's having now on our supply chain and also the higher cost we are facing in our business. Now, it's a shame that once again we are holding this AGM virtually because we really hope to be able to have a physical AGM this year. I did not want to miss the opportunity to say a few words to you about the work that we did on the board last year. Now, I don't intend to go into a great deal of detail because it's already very well documented in our annual report. I'm very happy to answer questions. I just ask you, if you have questions, reach out to an investor relations team within Husqvarna, and I will take these questions, and I'll happily answer them.
Now, before I go into the board work, I'd like to just take this opportunity to remind you of your board members, the elected board members. We have Daniel Nodhäll , Katarina Martinson , Lars Pettersson , Chris Robbins, Bertrand Neuschwander, and the new member elected last year, Ingrid Bonde. In addition, we have the union representatives, Tina Helmke Hallberg, Anders Küller, Dan Byström , and Daniel Thörnberg. I want to take this opportunity to sincerely thank all the board members for their hard work and their commitment and support during the year, not only to me, but to the management as we've managed this challenging environment that we've been operating in. They've worked hard to bring their knowledge and experience to support Henric and to support the management team, and I think you can see that in our development.
I also want to take this opportunity to welcome the newest member of our board, Stefan Ranstrand. Stefan brings tremendous experience, 18 years from ABB and last 12 years as CEO of Tomra Systems. His knowledge of technology, his knowledge of industry and manufacturing, and his international experience will be a great value for us in the board, and I know a great support to the management. Now let's take this opportunity to look back a little bit at the year 2021. Of course, it continued to be heavily impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. With that as a backdrop, we did tremendously well during the year. Yes, we were helped by the stay-at-home situation where most people stayed at home and bought more products. At the same time, we emphasized the continued execution of our strategy.
I think the combination of these two resulted in our performance you saw last year. We strengthened our position in many of our core product areas. We strengthened our position in many of our end markets. A really, really strong performance from the group. We had record sales, record sales growth, record operating margin, record operating profit, and a very strong cash flow and a good work on our balance sheet. What that basically meant is we met all our financial targets during the year. We also launched a number of new products during the year, which I think are very important products will help us grow and further develop our business going forward. Within the Husqvarna Forest & Garden division, we launched the new CEORA boundary wireless robotic mower, primarily for the commercial area. Gardena launched a new EcoLine of products, mainly made from recycled materials.
Within the construction division, we launched the K 1 PACE power cutter, battery power cutter. All of these products are very important products for our future and show our commitment, continued commitment to research and development. Now, I'll not go into more detail on the business or the financial performance because our President and CEO, Henric Andersson, will probably talk a little bit about that. This improving financial performance that we saw as a group enabled us as a board to recommend to the annual general meeting to increase by 25% the dividend to SEK 3 . Now, a little bit about the work within the board. During the year we spent considerable time refining, reviewing our strategy and the priorities that we have as a group.
We really were working to build on the excellent work that had been done the year before when Henric took over as the new CEO. It was about evolving that strategy that we worked on there. Clearly, our role as a board is to help the group and help the management in developing the right strategy to strengthen Husqvarna going forward, as well as of course, monitoring and supporting the business operations there. It was a good work during the year and a continued work that we undertook there, and one of the outcomes of that was the fact that we resulted in changing the structure within the what was the Husqvarna division and is now the Husqvarna Forest & Garden division. They've now split the division into three business areas, very focused on their end, specific end markets.
The result of all that work was the updated strategy that was launched at our capital markets day in December, along with our financial targets. These financial targets are really a step up in performance for the group and are really focused on profitable growth going forward. It's about delivering profit, it's about delivering growth, but it's also about managing our financial assets and balance sheet. I am totally convinced that with the dedicated management team and the real commitment of Husqvarna employees around the world, under Henric's leadership, we will deliver on these targets. Now, a key part of our strategy is to further enhance the customer experience in using our products, using our solutions and using our services. To do that, we must continue to prioritize investments in research and development, and that we have been doing during the last year.
I mentioned just some of the products that we brought to the marketplace there. We must really look to see how we can bring products and solutions which also support our Sustainovate agenda. I'll come back to that a little bit later. They also will bring more solutions and services to our customers, and especially products and services where they're connected to us. Today, you know, we have over 2.8 million connected devices, and to be quite honest, we're still very much at the beginning of using that connectivity with our products and solutions to help us improve performance, lower cost of operation, lower environmental impact for our customers. That's an area we will continue to focus on going forward. I mentioned the Sustainovate strategy. It really is a key part of our business, a key part of our business model.
It's got three legs to it. Firstly, reducing the CO2 emissions in our operations, but also in the use of our products. Secondly, bringing to the market new products, new circular products. And thirdly, empowering more and more people to make sustainable choices in their use of products and the use of services. We made very, very good progress in the first two of these during the last year. The third item, empowering individuals, comes into more focus during this year. One other key part of our strategy is to continue to see how we can widen the offer that we bring to our customers to deliver more value to our customers. We do that through research and development, but we also do that through acquisitions.
I think a key example of that is the number of acquisitions we have made during the last years within the construction division to build a position within the floor care market. A very important new leg for our construction business and an area that's performing well. Last year we made another step, but this time within the Gardena division. The acquisition of Orbit, a U.S. watering company, will strengthen our position and give us a perfect platform to grow our watering business in North America. As we bring together Orbit's knowledge and technology with Gardena's knowledge and technology, we'll be able to bring even better products and solutions to our customers, not only in North America, but worldwide. Now, one key area to develop and deliver on that strategy, clearly, is people, is talent development.
You can have the best strategy in the world, but if you don't have the right people in the right place at the right time, you will not be successful. That is a key area for us within Husqvarna. Now, I know that predominantly that is the work of management, without a shadow of a doubt. Our role in the board is to ensure that we have the right processes in place, the right systems in place, and the right focus to ensure that we continue to develop our talent, not just in our offices, but in our factories and our operations around the world. I think we're making very good progress in that area, but as always, there is more to be done. These are a few of the areas we worked on during the last year.
Managing the business through the challenging environment of the COVID-19 pandemic and taking full advantage of the opportunities that brought, working to refine and review our strategies to develop and support the new financial targets. Also working on Sustainovate and on Talentovate talent development, as well as of course, monitoring all the risks and opportunities in our business. Clearly, that is a key focus area for us now at this time with what is happening in the world just now. Quite a busy year last year, and this year promises to be equally as busy. Finally, it's a great honor for me to be Chair of Husqvarna. I understand very clearly that our responsibility as a board is to deliver value to you, our shareholders.
I think we've made some good progress during the last year, but as always, there is work to be done and we've more work we can do in that area. We intend in the coming years to deliver on our new financial targets through strong customer focus, strong technology leadership, and then leveraging the skills, commitment, and drive of all of our employees around the world. I want to close by thanking you, our shareholders, for your support during the last year. I truly believe that next year, we will have a physical meeting. I also want to close by sincerely thanking Henric and his management team, but all the colleagues within the Husqvarna Group worldwide for their support, their commitment, and truly for the excellent work they did during 2021. I look forward to seeing you physically next year.
At that, I just say, stay safe, take care everyone. Back to you, Johan.
Stort tack för en väldigt bra sammanfattning, Tom. Med det skulle jag också vilja lämna över till vår vd och koncernchef, Henric Andersson. Varsågod, Henric.
[Foreign language] Tack, Johan. Också ett varmt välkommen från min sida. Vi har målmedvetet byggt en starkare Husqvarnakoncern under flertalet år. Vi har försökt förändra mixen i företaget. Idag står Husqvarna och Gardena varumärkena för hela 90% av vår omsättning, vilket ska jämföras med bara 65% för 5 år sedan. Vi har också förändrat produktmixen så att vi verkligen optimerar på de segment som har störst tillväxtpotential, störst lönsamhetspotential i framtiden. Har till och med klivit av en del segment som inte har den attraktionskraften. Ytterligare så försöker vi skapa ett erbjudande som är mer hållbart, mer elektrifierat, mer uppkopplat och mer autonomt. 2021 var ett resultat av den strategin och den utvecklingen vi har sett under ett antal år, där vi levererar ytterligare ett rekordår, där vi växer verksamheten med 15%. [/Foreign language]
Omsättning går upp hela 15% och det är en bred ökning på så sätt att vi ser den i alla tre divisionerna. Husqvarnas skog- och trädgårdsdivisionen var upp 15%, Gardena var upp 14% och Construction-divisionen var upp 18%. Samtidigt ökar vi också lönsamheten från 10.7% till 12.1%. Det naturligtvis stärker ytterligare vår finansiella ställning, vilket gör att vi kan fortsätta att investera i framtiden, accelerera vår strategi. Under året gör vi också flera viktiga strategiska framflyttningar. Om jag väljer en per division så skulle jag välja Husqvarna CEORA för Husqvarnadivisionen. Den nya professionella robotgräsklipparen som öppnar en helt ny marknad som egentligen är början på en ny era för oss som företag. För Gardena skulle jag välja Orbit-förvärvet, där vi förvärvar marknadsledaren för konsumentbevattning och smarta bevattningslösningar i USA. Tillsammans med Gardena skapar vi nu den globala marknadsledaren.
Det ger oss också möjligheten att på ett bra sätt etablera Gardena som ett premiumvarumärke också i USA. För Construction Division så skulle jag välja PACE, vilket är vår egenutvecklade nya batteriplattform på 94 volt, som klarar de där riktigt krävande applikationerna och som egentligen ger Construction Division möjligheten att på allvar gå in mot batteriapplikationer. Under året så har vi också jobbat hårt med vårt hållbarhetsarbete att fortsätta att ta ner vårt koldioxidavtryck, att lansera nya cirkulära innovationer, att jobba med kunder och anställda för att egentligen uppmana till att fatta mer hållbara beslut. Samtidigt om vi pratar om 2021 så är det svårt att undvika COVID-19. Det har naturligtvis påverkat oss tvärs genom hela företaget under året. Positivt och negativt. Stanna hemma-trenden har gett oss en ökad efterfrågan, men samtidigt har många begränsningar och strul i anskaffningskedjan vad gäller råmaterialkomponenter, logistik och liknande.
[Foreign language] Nu på slutet kan vi också se en ökad inflation till följd av den här krisen. Jag måste säga att jag är extremt stolt över hur vi som organisation har hanterat den här svåra situationen. Att givet alla de störningar och begränsningarna, så kan vi ändå leverera 15% tillväxt. Det är någonting vi ska vara extremt stolta över. Jag vill ta möjligheten här att återigen tacka hela organisationen för det arbetet man har gjort under 2021. Om vi så då sneglar lite in på 2022 så är det nog rimligt att tro att det i alla fall kommer börja lite så som 2021 var. Med en relativt hög efterfrågan och med fortsatt strul vad gäller komponenttillförsel och logistik och med ökad inflation.
Om vi sedan tittar lite längre ut, skådar bort mot horisonten, så måste jag säga för det första att det är extremt stimulerande att vara en del av Husqvarna Group. Det är så många intressanta saker som händer och det är en stor transformation som är på gång. Vi har en handfull eller så omvärldstrender som alla var och en i sig är transformativ. Vi har digitalisering, vi har robotisering, vi har elektrifiering, vi har tjänster och vi har hållbarhet i sig. Och naturligtvis, när alla de händer samtidigt, då historiskt sett så har det inneburit att det varit en brytpunkt i tiden där världen faktiskt tar en ny riktning. Och då är det extremt viktigt att man lutar sig långt framåt, att man ser till att man är med och skapar den framtiden. För det är där de nya affärsmöjligheterna gömmer sig.
Det här är någonting som vi är väldigt bra på inom Husqvarna. Tittar man igenom vår 300-åriga historia så är det en sak som verkligen står ut. den här förmågan att väldigt tidigt transformera sig själv för att hela tiden vara fit för framtiden. För att förmedla storleken på vår transformation och vår ambitioner framöver så har vi börjat delge ett antal operativa ambitioner. En av dem är att vi vill fördubbla vår robotförsäljning inom 5 år. En annan är att vi vill att vårt motoriserade produktutbud ska vara 67% elektrifierat inom 5 år. Ett tredje är att vi vill fördubbla antalet uppkopplade produkter. det sistnämnda är viktigt för vi kan på det sättet erbjuda tjänster som adderar kundvärde bortom vår produkt. Vi kan också skapa en mycket mer närmare relation med vår kund och skapa en bättre kundupplevelse. Utöver det har vi antagit nya finansiella mål.
Vår organiska tillväxt ska vara 5%. Vår lönsamhet ska upp till 13% inom ett antal år och kapitaleffektivitet ska vara 20%. Summerar vi det här så kan man säga att vi har byggt en starkare Husqvarnakoncern under flertalet år och 2021 är ett resultat av det. Där levererar vi ett rekordår. Vi har en strategi som är väldigt framåtlutad, som är baserad på de här omvärldstrenderna som kommer omforma oss som företag, vår bransch, men också samhället i stort. Jag känner mig väldigt trygg i den strategi vi har, att den verkligen kommer leverera på det och att vi kan fortsätta att leverera aktieägarvärde över tid. Tack så mycket. </[Foreign language]
Stort tack för det, Henric. Och med det skulle jag också vilja tacka alla er som har lyssnat in på den här sändningen som vi gjorde i samband med årsstämman 2022. [/Foreign language]