Merck, the German chemical and pharmaceuticals company, could face a confrontation with the country’s financial regulator Bafin after it emerged that the company last week gave market-moving information to a limited number of analysts ahead of official publication.

FT Deutschland, the Financial Times’ sister paper, has learnt that Michael Becker, Merck’s chief financial officer, informed analysts in a conference call about the company’s turnover and operating profits. Merck increased its turnover in the first five months of the year by 42 per cent to €3.67bn ($4.96bn), while operating profits increased by 23 per cent to €579m, Mr Becker told analysts.