Shares in Centaur Media (AIM:CAU), publisher of the Lawyer and Marketing Week and provider of business intelligence, surged 16% higher to 30.1p on the back of a positive midday trading update.
Trading since October has been ahead of previous guidance, it said, and the board now expects revenue for the 2024 calendar year to be around £35 million at an adjusted EBITDA margin of approximately 16%.
City analysts had pencilled in revenue of £34 million with an adjusted EBITDA margin of 15% to produce adjusted EBITDA of £5.1 million.
Revenue from The Lawyer grew 7% and from the Marketing Week 'mini MBA' of 5%, to offset headwinds for the marketing sector from macroeconomic challenges that dragged on the Econsultancy and Oystercatchers brands, as well as Xeim's advertising revenue.
Cash balances were "robust" at £8.9 million, the same as at the half-year stage, as the new executive chair Martin Rowland undertakes a review of the business and strategy.
Rowland, who took on the role earlier this month, said the focus of the review "will be on defining the strategy and enhancing the reputation of each brand within Centaur to maximise shareholder value while remaining our customers' partner of choice for business intelligence and learning in the marketing and legal sectors".