LONDON (Reuters) – Earnings at European companies in the first quarter of 2021 are expected to surge 71.3% from a year earlier, according to Refinitiv IBES data, as the continent’s economy recovers from the downturn caused by the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic a year ago.

The data, published on Tuesday with the first quarter earnings season in full swing, would mark the best quarter for European stocks since IBES records began nine years ago and represents a jump compared to last week’s forecast of a 61.2% jump.

The forecasts, which track companies listed on the pan-European STOXX 600 equity benchmark, point to revenuesrising 2.5% in the first quarter, compared to 2.8% a week ago.

Refinitiv said that its data showed that out of 54 companies in the STOXX 600 having reported earnings for the first quarter, 64.8% reported results exceeding analyst estimates, well above the 51% beat achieved in a typical quarter.

(Reporting by Julien Ponthus; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)