The Medibank Private Ltd (ASX: MPL) earnings result was one to watch this week. The Aussie private health insurer released its full-year results for the year ended 30 June 2021 (FY21) and had an instant share price impact.
The Medibank share price jumped 2% higher on Wednesday morning following the release before closing the day 0.6% higher at $3.57 per share.
As one of the biggest weeks of the August earnings season comes to a close, let's compare the Medibank result against that of rival insurer, NIB Holdings Limited (ASX: NHF).
How does the Medibank earnings result compare to NIB?
In case you missed it, some of the big takeaways from Medibank's earnings result on Wednesday were:
- Revenue up 1.99% on the prior corresponding period (pcp) to $6.9 billion
- Net profit after tax (NPAT) up 39.8% on pcp to $441 million
- Earnings per share (EPS) up 39.8% on pcp to 16 cents
- Final dividend of 6.9 cents per share, making for a 5.8% increase in the full-year dividend to 12.7 cents per share
It's worth noting the surge in profits was helped by a 4,900% increase in net investment income throughout the year.
In contrast, the NIB share price sank 6.3% lower on Monday following its half-year earnings update. The Aussie private health insurer reported that revenue was down 2.9% on pcp to $2.6 billion with expense claims up 2.5% on pcp to $2 billion.
NPAT came in 84.5% higher on pcp at $160.5 million, while NIB announced a 14 cents per share final dividend, fully franked.
There's no doubt that the COVID-19 pandemic continues to weigh on earnings across the ASX but particularly for the Aussie health insurers.
The Medibank earnings result sent the company's shares soaring while the same can't be said for NIB. NIB reported significantly weakened international inbound and travel earnings as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The group has also put aside $34 million in provisions to catch up on deferred claims in relation to COVID-19.
The NIB share price has climbed 10% higher in 2021 while Medibank shares are up 16.1% year to date. While shares in both insurers have seen double-digit gains, it does mean that Medibank is outperforming the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) while NIB is not.
