Shares in battery maker China Shoto got a charge on Thursday morning as the company issued a profits guidance upgrade.Though the company did not include any figures in a brief statement, it did say that profit before tax for 2009 will be ‘materially ahead of market expectations’.Market consensus prior to the company’s trading announcement was for profit before tax of £12.5m in 2009, up from £11.55m in 2008.The company’s strong performance was down to being able to correctly read the market or, as the company put it, ‘a good grasp of the linkage scheme between the fluctuating lead price and the sales price to major customers, and effective management of risk.’The shares have more than trebled in value over the last year.