The Airtasker Ltd (ASX: ART) share price has started the week in a very positive fashion.
In morning trade, the online marketplace for local services has seen its shares shoot over 5% higher to $1.18.
Why is the Airtasker share price charging higher?
Investors have been bidding the Airtasker share price higher following the release of a positive trading update this morning.
According to the release, the company's marketplace performance was very strong in the fourth quarter of FY 2021. This was despite a softer end to the period due to COVID-19 related restrictions and lockdowns in major capital city markets across Australia.
For the three months ended 30 June, Airtasker reported Gross Marketplace Volume (GMV) of $39.4 million. This represents a 39.1% increase compared to the prior corresponding period.
In light of this strong quarterly performance, the company has outperformed its guidance in FY 2021.
Management advised that it expects to report GMV of $153.1 million for the full year. This exceeds both its prospectus forecast of $143.7 million and April's upgraded guidance of $148 million to $152 million.
Another positive that may be supporting the Airtasker share price is that this has all been achieved while maintaining costs below prospectus forecast levels for the full year.
What about FY 2022?
The company notes that the recent lockdowns in Sydney and other capital cities are expected to have a temporary impact on first quarter GMV in FY 2022.
However, due to the company's strong performance going into the lockdowns and sharp marketplace recoveries previously seen, it is confident that there will be no impact to Airtasker's full year FY 2022 outlook. Further details will be provided on the company's expectations for FY 2022 next month when it release its first full year results as a listed company.
The Airtasker share price is now up 81% since its IPO in March.
