Software firm Sopheon PLC (LON:SPE) is no stranger to springing pleasant surprises on the market and it was at it again on Monday.

The company enjoyed a record third quarter and advised that full-year results are now expected to exceed current market expectations. The shares rose 11% to 1,007.5p on the news.

READ: Sopheon soars as revenue visibility hits new record

Sopheon said that following a number of transactions in what is traditionally a quiet period for the company, revenue visibility for the year has risen above US$30mln from US$27.3mln at the time of its last update on August 23.

Included in the wins were two material contracts booked during the final days of the quarter, one of which was with a new enterprise customer, while the other was a licence extension. These two customers operate in the chemicals and electronics sectors respectively.

Broker finnCap reiterated its 1,295p target price as it bumped up its full-year revenue forecast by 5% to US$32.5mln from US$31mln previously.

Its forecast for underlying earnings (EBITDA) was bumped up by 9% for this year and 2% for next year.

“The 4Q strength in FY17 & FY18 lead us to suspect we may look to further unscheduled trading updates; however, given the licence-based nature of the model, this is not a certainty – therefore forecasts remain cautious due to licence timing, despite evident groundswell in demand for Enterprise Innovation Management,” the broker said.

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