One of the best performing areas of the Australian share market in 2019 has been the tech sector.
Since the start of the year S&P/ASX 200 Info Tech index has put on a gain of approximately 28%.
Three shares that have done a lot of the heavy lifting are listed below. Here's why they have more than doubled in value this year:
The Afterpay Touch Group Ltd (ASX: APT) share price has raced over 107% higher since the start of the year. The catalyst for this impressive gain has largely been the payments company's successful expansion into the United States market. Investors appear confident that the Afterpay platform will replicate its Australian success in the world's largest retail market. Another positive has been the company's recent launch in the UK market. If the platform takes off in this market as well, it could give its underlying sales a major boost.
The Appen Ltd (ASX: APX) share price has really caught the eye in 2019 with a gain of almost 116%. Investors have been scrambling to get hold of the shares of the global leader in the development of high-quality, human annotated datasets for machine learning and artificial intelligence after it posted an impressive full year result in FY 2018. For the 12 months ended December 31, Appen delivered a 153% increase in underlying EBITDA to $71.3 million. This was driven by the accelerating AI market, the high and growing demand for quality training data, and the Leapforce acquisition. Looking ahead, management appears confident that its strong growth can continue and has provided positive guidance for FY 2019.
The Nearmap Ltd (ASX: NEA) share price has been the best performer on the ASX 200 in 2019 with a stunning gain of 153%. Investors have been buying the aerial imagery technology and location data company's shares after its strong growth continued in FY 2019. During the first half the company posted revenue of $36.3 million, which was a 46% increase on the prior corresponding period. This was driven by strong demand for the U.S. and ANZ regions and led to its total subscriber lifetime value increasing 123% to $1.07 billion Pleasingly, with the company launching new products and planning to expand into new markets, Nearmap looks well-placed to continue this strong growth in FY 2020.
