Helia Earnings: Another Year of Abnormally Favorable Claims

Claims remain exceptionally benign at no-moat Helia. Low unemployment, record labor force participation, and strong house price growth continued to support mortgages, despite broader cost-of-living pressures. As such, the insurer reported yet another negative claims/insurance revenue ratio in 2024 of minus 10% as reductions in the liability for previously incurred claims more than offset current claims. While Helia’s insurance services result was marginally stronger than we expected, investment income was softer. Underlying net profit after tax of AUD 221 million missed our forecast by 16%.