Christie Group plc (LON:CTG) shares jumped over 24% higher early Tuesday as the business services group forecast a significantly higher first-half performance in the current year as it reported strong growth in 2017 profits and revenues, seeing an "encouraging rebound in performance following a disrupted 2016”.
The AIM-listed firm said its operating profit for the 12 months ending 31 December 2017 grew to £3.8mln, up from £1.1mln before exceptional items in 2016, broadly in line with expectations.
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The company saw its full-year revenue grow by 11% to £71.6mln, up from £64.5mln last year, mainly thanks to higher volumes in transaction-related business.
Christie Group said it saw a strong recovery from its Professional Business Services (PBS) division, with revenue up 15.9% from the same time last year. However, the firm said it continued to deal with some challenges in its Stock and Inventory System and Services division but remained optimistic of its prospects in 2018.
David Rugg, chairman and chief executive of Christie Group, said: "Looking ahead, 2018 has started well. We have a good volume of Client M&A transactions in progress.”
He concluded: “As a result, we anticipate our first-half performance will be significantly ahead of last year's first-half performance."
Christie Group increased its final dividend to1.75p per share, up from 1.5p in 2016, increasing the total dividend to 2.75p for the year, up from 2.5p.
In morning trading, Christie Group shares were up 24.4% to 122.5p