Henderson turning round

The benefits of these corporate actions have yet to show through in the financial numbers, with 2012 income hit by almost halved performance fees to £33.9m while underlying pre-tax profits were down from £159.2m to £146.5m - and that's after knocking £20m off employee costs. Its 'dependency' on European equities and subdued demand for this segment in 2012 clearly contributed to a £3.9m net outflow of funds.

But recurring profits after deducting amortisation, void property finance charge and Gartmore employee share awards were stable at £82.4m and some of the other numbers are encouraging. For example, the group had assets under management of £65.5bn at the end of December, the highest for five years, as investment performance improved. Cash generation has improved, too, and net debt of £28m has been replaced by net unrestricted cash of £17.9m.

To offset the European bias, Henderson is likely to make one or two modest acquisitions and expand in the US and Asia. The group has recently hired a US-based credit specialist team and that move is a precursor to launching US high-yield and global credit funds. It's also beefing up its presence in Australia.

Broker JPMorgan forecasts 2013 adjusted pre-tax profits £14m higher at £161m and diluted EPS little changed at 11.9p.