Shares in Central Europe-focused freight management firm Xpediator (XPD:AIM) raced 9% higher to a new 12-month high of 78.4p after the company hiked its full year profit guidance thanks to strong trading.
Following on from the positive AGM update in June, the firm said demand for the group’s three divisions - freight forwarding, logistics and warehousing and transport - had been strong all the way through the first half, which is typically weaker than the second half.
As vaccination programmes gather speed in Europe, regional economies are bouncing back. The World Bank expects growth of 4.6% in Central Europe this year and next year helped by a recovery in trade and EU fund packages which should help mitigate any drop in investment.
Eastern Europe is expected to grow 1.9% this year and 2.8% next year due to subdued domestic demand and what the bank calls ‘structural weakness, although it could surprise to the upside.
While firms like Xpediator usually make most of their profits in the second half, results for the first half to June mean the company is already able to raise its full year pre-tax profit guidance to more than £8.5 million against an S&P Market Intelligence consensus of £5.8 million.
Shares in the freight management company have risen almost three-fold in the last year as it has repeatedly topped forecasts and raised its profit outlook, leading to wave after wave of broker upgrades.
