Shares of York-based Gear4music, the online retailer of musical instruments and equipment, rose about 8% on Tuesday after it said its revenue rose 36% to £42.5 million in the six months to August 31, 2018.

Although EBITDA for the period fell to £652,000 from £717,000, the firm said it is confident of delivering another year of strong revenue growth.

Gear4music CEO Andrew Wass said: “During the period we are pleased to have achieved further market share gains, with revenue growth of 36% and strong growth both in the UK and internationally.

“As the market for musical instruments and music equipment continues to transform and consolidate, we have strengthened our position as the UK’s leading retailer within the market, having invested into our customer proposition, market leading e-commerce platform, and scalable infrastructure.

“As we continue to invest and focus on gaining market share, I am pleased to report that we have seen particularly strong revenue growth since 1 September 2018 alongside notable gross margin improvements on the H1 period.

“As such, we remain confident of delivering another year of strong revenue growth and EBITDA in line with our full year expectations.”

Analysts at Peel Hunt wrote: “G4M has delivered steady H1 numbers (EBITDA of £0.7m) but the key here is the upbeat language in the current trading statement.

“Sales are reported to be ‘very strong’ so far in H2, and the gross margin is up which is good news following the travails of H1 (down 210 bps).

“Industry competitive forces seem to be quietening (a bit) and management has committed to a strong inventory buy, so we don’t see a repeat of the margin downside of H1, but we do see a strong top line showing ahead.”