Henderson Group Plc (HGG), the dual London and Sydney-listed fund manager, posted a bigger-than-estimated gain in full-year profit as management fees climbed after its purchase of Gartmore Group Ltd.

Underlying net income, which excludes costs related to the Gartmore acquisition, climbed 56 percent to 125.7 million pounds ($200 million), the Jersey, Channel Islands-based firm said in a statement today. That beat the 122.5 million-pound estimate of 11 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.

The Gartmore acquisition helped Henderson to raise the average fee it charges clients because it added hedge funds and individual investors, who typically pay more than institutional investors and pension funds.

“The acquisition of Gartmore has exceeded our expectations on all counts and made a significant contribution to these results,” Chief Executive Officer Andrew Formica said in the statement.

Assets under management rose 4 percent to 64.3 billion pounds over the 12-month period.

Henderson had 59 percent of its funds performing ahead of their benchmarks over one year, compared to 70 percent in 2010, the firm said. Over three years, 66 percent of funds beat their benchmarks, up from 62 percent a year ago.

To contact the reporter on this story: Kevin Crowley in London at kcrowley1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Edward Evans at eevans3@bloomberg.net;