LONDON -- The FTSE 100 (INDEX: ^FTSE), standing at 5,840 points as I write, is up 268 points since the start of the year, having ended 2011 on 5,572 points. That's a rise of 4.8% in seven and a half months, which would extrapolate to around 7.7% for the full year.
If we add in the FTSE's trailing dividend yield of around 3.5%, that would be a great annual performance at any time -- and the fact that it has happened during a year of zero economic growth only adds to the feeling that the panic sell-off of shares was overdone.
Today I thought I'd have a look at some constituents of the FTSE indexes that have outstripped even that strong performance but that I think still have more of a story to tell. Here are three shares that have soared this year.
Dixons
Dixons Retail (LSE: DXNS.L) has soared by 68% this year to 16.47 pence, after slumping massively from pre-crash levels, and is now looking like a recovery story that's only set to get better. There were many reasons for the crash, but mainly it was a shift in our shopping practices away from slogging around the streets to browsing online retailers from the comfort of our homes.
Dixons, like others, was slow to change and embrace modern multichannel retailing, and was far too inefficient in its business. But annual results in June showed strong signs that the firm's turnaround strategy is meeting with success, as it said its first priority is to "Drive a successful and sustainable business model in a multi-channel world." Sales and profits are creeping back, debt is being slashed, and we're seeing more Internet-savvy efficiency.
The shares are now at a forward price-to-earnings ratio of around 12 for April 2013, falling to 8 the following year. Dixons could well be back into sustainable profit territory again.
CSR
CSR (LSE: CSR.L), the chip technology expert, has seen a rise of 80% to 329.3 pence since the end of December, and it's a great example of what can happen to a high-tech growth share. In this case, it was CSR's selling of some of its mobile communications technology and operations to Korean giant Samsung Electronics for $310 million in July that made up the bulk of the boost, with Samsung in turn buying into CSR.
High-tech stars generally mature in one of several ways, either by growing organically and rising to the top of their sectors, like ARM Holdings (LSE: ARM.L), by being taken over for a healthy premium, as search specialist Autonomy was bought out by Hewlett-Packard, or by the kind of joint deal done by CSR. CSR is now looking for more mature, higher-margin business.
Perform
Perform Group (LSE: PER.L) shares have stormed up 81% to 377 pence, and that even takes into account a recent fallback from a 52-week high of 421 pence.
While Dixons might have struggled to join the digital revolution, Perform is an example of a company exploiting opportunities that didn't exist without it. Perform works in the business of digital sports media, and provides platforms for advertising and for the commercialization of sporting events.
And though it has only been around for a couple of years and has already enjoyed such a meteoric rise, forecasts still suggest a PEG ratio of 0.5 this year and 0.4 the next -- classic growth shares are generally considered good value at anything under 0.7.
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