The Advance Nanotek Ltd (ASX: ANO) share price has been amongst the best performers on the market on Friday.
In afternoon trade the advanced materials company's shares were up over 8% to $6.32.
This latest gain means its shares are up a massive 550% in 2019.
What is Advance Nanotek?
Advance NanoTek is a developer, manufacturer, and marketer of innovative products based on a range of proprietary advanced material technologies and manufacturing processes.
Its current commercialised products include metal oxide powders and dispersions of zinc oxide which act as the UV blocker in sunscreens and some cosmetic products.
The company has been benefiting greatly from the growing demand in the personal care sector for zinc-based ingredients.
This led to Advance NanoTek recording revenue of $12.3 million in FY 2019. This was almost double what it recorded a year earlier.
On the bottom line it posted a profit before tax of $3.4 million and earnings per share of 16.9 cents. This compares favourably to $1.1 million and 4.62 cents per share, respectively, in FY 2018.
Why is the Advance NanoTek share price surging higher today?
Investors have been fighting to get hold of its shares on Friday following the release of a sales update this afternoon.
According to the announcement, orders for US$500,000 of its unique dispersions were received over the last 24 hours. These have been approved for production today.
In addition to this, the company's board advised that it will achieve a profit before tax of approximately $1 million for the month of November. This is a record for the company and almost as much as it achieved during the whole of FY 2018.
Furthermore, year to date, Advance NanoTek's sales order are still approximately three times greater than the same corresponding period last year.
And while this is expected to boost its profits in FY 2020, it notes that there is some delay between receiving the order and the timing of production and shipment.
Nevertheless, the company looks well-placed for another strong result this year.
Also climbing strongly on Friday at the small end of the market are LiveTiles Ltd (ASX: LVT) and Volpara Health Technologies Ltd (ASX: VHT). They are up 5.5% and 5%, respectively, at the time of writing.
