Mercia Asset Management PLC (AIM:MERC) told investors it expects earnings (EBITDA) for the year ended 31 March to be materially ahead of market expectations.
In London, the shares were up 15% to 29.44p in Wednesday’s early dealing.
The firm recorded approximately £250 million of inflows during the final quarter - including fund mandate increases, new fund management contracts, and successful VCT and EIS fundraising.
"We are pleased to update that Mercia has had an excellent finish to the financial year,” chief executive Dr Mark Payton said in a statement.
“Our second successive year of significant fourth-quarter organic fund inflows, coupled with a strong trading performance, is testament to our clear strategy of focusing on growing our profitable specialist asset management capabilities.
“It also reflects Mercia's increasing ability to effectively deploy equity and debt funding across the UK, through our established regional footprint of 11 offices and our extensive deal flow networks, to generate attractive returns over time for our investors.”
Mercia added that it ended the period with £40 million of cash, and it remains debt-free.
It also noted that Julian Viggars has stepped down from the board to focus on the group’s equity portfolio performance.
Mercia has around £1.8 billion of assets under management.