Henderson Group, the fund manager listed in London and Sydney, was forced to reveal that its pre-tax profit would be at least 23% higher in 2006 than last year, after the Australian regulator asked for clarification on why its stock price rose 12% last week.

Henderson said it expects group net profit before tax to be between £78m (€116m) and £82m, up from £63.4m last year. The group also said it expects to meet its cost to income ratio target of 73%.