MORRISVILLE – Shares in global ecommerce services provider ChannelAdvisor surged Thursday morning after the company reported a profit and growth in revenue year-over-year with COVID-19 helping drive more online sales for its clients.

ECOM climbed more than 70 cents to $11.11 shortly after the earnings report. That’s still short of its 52-week high ($11.88) but well above its low in the same time period ($4.39).

CEO David Spitz said the COVID-19 pandemic triggered a surge in sales by clients using his firm. That in turn meant more dollars for its services.

This chart published by ChannelAdvisor shows the growth in sales across seven categories since Jan. 1:

ChannelAdvisor graphic

“During this unprecedented pandemic, we moved quickly to a virtual model to protect the safety of our employees and communities. Despite the disruption, our team kept its focus on our customers and we delivered strong financial results for the quarter,” Spitz said in a statement. And he noted the surge is continuing.

“An unexpected surge to holiday-level GMV (gross merchandise value) levels processed on our platform continued into April, highlighting the critical role we have played in helping our customers adapt seamlessly to a rapidly changing situation,” he said.

ChanelAdvisor reported a 1.5 percent increase year-over-year in revenue to $32 million. Three analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $31.5 million.

Earnings, adjusted for stock option expense, came to 17 cents per share.

The results topped Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of three analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of 8 cents per share.

ChannelAdvisor shares have increased 23% since the beginning of the year. The stock has declined 4% in the last 12 months.

And a $2 million profit reversed a $2.3 million loss in the same 2019 quarter.

Overall, ChannelAdvisor said its performance exceeded guidance for the quarter, but Spitz said guidance for the year was being withdrawn due to uncertainty created by the pandemic.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.