Medibank Private shares fall despite profit boost
Make us a preferred source
Make us a preferred source on Google
More news: Medibank Private shares dropped 4.27% to $3.70 by 2:55pm AEDT, despite the insurer announcing its net profit more than doubled during the first half of the financial year.
Today also saw Medibank lose its court application to force the privacy regulator to pause its investigation of the health insurer's data breach.
What they said: Jarden analysts said while the company's NPAT was more than 30% above expectations it reflected non-recurring Covid provisions.
It said the company had lower health insurance claims but this was offset by higher operating expenses and softer policy growth.
“While revised guidance suggests these offsetting trends should persist through the second half of the financial year, downside risks into FY25 have likely increased given risks around the sustainability of lower claims inflation,” they said.
Medibank doubles half-year profit
The news: Australia’s biggest health insurer Medibank has posted a strong lift in first-half profit on the back of strong growth in the non-resident market.
The numbers: Net profit for the six months to December 2023 more than doubled to $343.2 million. Revenue was up 11.8% to $4 billion. The company will pay a dividend of 7.2 cents a share, up from 6.3 cents a year ago.
The context: Medibank said customer sign-ups in the non-resident segment were up 34% in the last 12 months, while customer growth in the local market was driven by families and those taking out cover for the first time.
The number of resident policyholders increased by 3,400 in the first half. The company’s main health insurance business made an operating profit of $317 million, up 4.3%, while Medibank Health earnings rose 8.5% to $26.7 million.
It would pay another $17.2 million in non-recurring costs related to the 2022 cyber attack.
What they said: “Our health insurance business has remained resilient despite the challenging economic conditions. We delivered a strong performance in Medibank Health and made some substantial steps in our expansion in health,” CEO David Koczkar said.
The source: ASX announcement
