I am very happy to share that we have achieved a stupendous financial performance in 2021. The fundamentals of our company continue to remain strong and we are well positioned to capitalize on opportunities that will help us in sustaining the continued growth momentum in the future. I am glad to share with you the key highlights of a very successful year gone by.
Our revenue from operations grew by 47.8% to ` 55,605 million in 2021. Growth was aided by strong market recovery as well as significant wins across all our businesses. While both Automotive Technologies and Automotive Aftermarket grew by 50%, the Industrial business registered a healthy 39% growth. Exports registered a hefty growth of 70%, as we continue to focus on capacity expansion, competency build up as well as expanding our global footprint.
Our EBITDA grew by 84.2% to ` 9,950 million in 2021, while EBITDA margin was 17.9% as compared to 14.4% in the previous year. The balanced business mix coupled with our concerted efforts and unified approach to overcome the input cost pressure and effective execution of countermeasures enabled mitigate the risks associated and deliver resilient margin levels throughout the year. All of that also led to a similar growth in the net profit which grew by 116.2% to ` 6,291 million in 2021, while net profit margin stood at 11.3% as compared to 7.7% in the previous year.
In terms of Free Cash Flow, we could optimize on the working capital despite the challenges on the inventory front due to global supply-chain challenges. The working capital to sales was 18% as of 2021 end as against 17% in the previous year. The strong focus on cash conversion cycle and thoughtful CAPEX spending led to resilient FCF generation of ` 3,277 million in 2021.
Our earnings per share (EPS) was ` 201.3 in 2021 as against ` 93.1 in 2020, grew by 116.2%.
Our return on capital employed (ROCE) for the year was phenomenal 23.0% as against 11.1% in the previous year.
The optimal utilization of fixed assets and the working capital, entailed a robust capital employed level. Going forward, as our business grows, and the operations foot-print expands, we will continue to judiciously spend on our planned investments. We are well placed to deliver on our strategy of investing ` 10,000 million over a period of next three years.
During the year, the Board of Directors approved progressive steps on our share split as well as the target dividend payout ratio (30% to 50% of the annual standalone profit after tax), putting us on course for long term value creation. Our strong cash flow generation is enabling us to invest in the business while offering an attractive dividend to our shareholders.
We stay course also on our approach of solidifying our financial soundness by strengthening financial governance, minimizing financial risks, and improving cash flow & capital efficiency. As we have embarked upon ESG journey, we are enhancing disclosures of ESG information. We take pride in our corporate governance standards and look upon it as a key driver of sustainable growth and long-term value creation, we have taken several steps in this direction during the last few years.
We have made a noteworthy progress in voluntary adoption of Integrated Reporting (IR) in accordance with International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC) integrated reporting framework and SEBI circular on IR to aid our key stakeholders to get a holistic view of company’s strategic focus, future orientation and value creation which revolves around the 6 capitals - Financial, Manufacturing, Intellectual, Human, Social & Relationship and Natural. I am happy to inform that, 2021 is the third year of our annual reporting in IR framework. We stood by our commitment in striving to enhance shareholders’ value by working on both financial and non-financial front.
I look forward to an exciting year ahead as we endeavor to sustain our performance while dealing with any volatility in the market.
Mr. Satish Patel
Director - Finance & CFO
