Beleaguered property and construction giant Lendlease says it could not have disclosed a change in its forward guidance any earlier than last month’s December half profit announcement, after the market operator queried why the group’s shares plunged 14 per cent on the day of its results.

Lendlease shocked investors on February 19 when it announced that it had lowered its guidance for return on equity for the full year from the “lower end of the range of 8 per cent to 10 per cent to 7 per cent”, despite having confirmed that previous forecast just two months prior.