A disappointing final week of the month led to the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) climbing just 0.3% to 6,607.4 points in January.
Fortunately, a good number of ASX 200 shares outperformed the benchmark index by some distance. Here's why these were the best performers in January:
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Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P)
The Zip share price was the best performer on the ASX 200 in January with a massive 37.4% gain. Investors were buying the buy now pay later provider's shares following the release of a strong second quarter update. During the three months ended 31 December, the buy now pay later provider delivered a 103% increase in transaction volume to a record $1.6 billion. A key driver of this strong form was Zip's US-based QuadPay business, which recorded explosive growth despite the increasing competition from PayPal and Shopify. QuadPay reported a 217% increase in transaction volume to $673.1 million, which was driven by a 180% lift in customer numbers to 3.2 million and a 655% jump in merchants to 8,400 in the key market.
Bingo Industries Ltd (ASX: BIN)
The Bingo share price was a strong performer over the month and jumped a sizeable 32.4%. The catalyst for this was news that the waste management company has received a takeover approach from a private equity firm. BINGO received an unsolicited, highly conditional, non-binding, indicative proposal from funds advised by CPE Capital. The indicative cash price currently offered to BINGO shareholders under the proposal is $3.50 per share.
Pro Medicus Limited (ASX: PME)
The Pro Medicus share price was on form last month and recorded an impressive 25.4% gain. Investors were buying the health imaging software company's shares after it announced another major new contract win. According to the release, Pro Medicus has signed a $40 million seven-year contract with Salt Lake City based Intermountain Healthcare. Management advised that the agreement will see its Visage 7 Viewer and Visage 7 Open Archive products implemented across all of Intermountain's radiology and subspecialty imaging departments. Impressively, this is the fifth major contract win Pro Medicus has announced in the space of six months.
Lynas Rare Earths Ltd (ASX: LYC)
The Lynas share price wasn't far behind with a sizeable gain of 20.1% over the month. Investors were buying the rare earths producer's shares after it provided the market with an update on its US activities. According to the release, the company has entered into an agreement with the United States Government to build a commercial Light Rare Earths separation plant in Texas. The U.S. government will provide funding of approximately US$30 million for its construction. In addition to this, last month Lynas released its second quarter update and revealed record quarterly sales revenue of $119.4 million. This was up from $87.3 million in the first quarter.
