Softcat PLC on Wednesday raised its annual outlook, after a strong first half and ‘an encouraging second half pipeline’.

Shares jumped 12% to 1,816.80 pence each in London on Wednesday morning, the best FTSE 250 performer.

The provider of IT infrastructure products and services said pretax profit in the six months to January 31 rose 12% to £76.7 million from £68.2 million a year prior. Operating profit improved 10% on-year to £73.7 million, a ‘record’ and slightly ahead of board expectations.

Revenue rose 17% to £545.6 million from £467.2 million,

‘We have continued to successfully implement our strategy, resulting in a first half performance slightly above our initial expectations and an upgrade to full year guidance, despite the persistent backdrop of generally more challenging trading conditions. Our progress is attributable to the breadth of our offering and sustainability of our growth model, powered by Softcat’s special culture and the differentiated customer service it delivers,’ Chief Executive Officer Graham Charlton said.

‘We are excited by the rapid pace of innovation across our industry, with more organisations embedding AI and automation into their systems and processes. Our existing capabilities and continued investment mean we are well positioned to support the evolving technological needs of our customers, enabling us to sustainably grow market share. Should a compelling opportunity arise, our financial strength also provides us with the flexibility to accelerate further through acquisitions.’

Softcat now expects operating profit growth of a low-double-digit percentage for the full-year, its guidance upgraded from high-single-digit growth. It hailed an ‘encouraging second half pipeline’.

Operating profit in financial 2024 amounted to £154.1 million.

Softcat raised its interim dividend by 4.7% to 8.9 pence from 8.5p.

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