The NIB Holdings Ltd (ASX: NHF) share price is charging higher, up 4.1%.
Shares in the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) private health insurer closed Friday trading for $8. In early trade on Monday, shares are swapping hands for $8.33.
For some context, the ASX 200 is down 0.2% at this same time.
This comes following the release of the company's full-year results for the financial year ending 30 June (FY23).
Read on for the highlights.
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NIB share price leaps higher on profit growth
- Revenue of $3.1 billion, up 10.9% year on year, notwithstanding COVID-19 compensation
- Net profit after tax (NPAT) of $191 million, up 42.8% from FY22
- Group claims expense increased 6.6% year on year to $2.2 billion
- Final dividend of 15.0 cents per share fully franked, up from 11 cents per share in FY22
What else happened with the ASX 200 health insurer during the year?
Other noteworthy financial metrics impacting the NIB share price today include the 11.1% year on year boost in underlying operating profit, which came in at $263 million.
The ASX 200 insurer reported that its Australian Residents Health Insurance (arhi) membership increased by 4.7% over the 12 months. Management noted this is more than twice the expected industry growth and the strongest growth since FY15.
There was also a big turnaround for the positive in NIB's net investment income. FY23 saw this add $57 million to the company's pre-tax earnings compared to the $30 million loss posted in FY22.
With the 15 cents per share final dividend, NIB's full-year dividend comes to 28 cents per share, up from 22 cents per share in FY22. At the current NIB share price, the ASX 200 stock trades at a fully franked yield (partly trailing, partly yet to be paid) of 3.5%.
Eligible shareholders can expect that final dividend payout to land in their bank account on 3 October.
What did management say?
Commenting on the results sending the NIB share price sharply higher today, managing director Mark Fitzgibbon said:
arhi continued its long track record of above system growth, and those businesses that were troubled by COVID-19 – international students and travel – are experiencing good recovery.
The ASX 200 insurer also continues to invest in technology across its segments. Fitzgibbon added:
In addition to health insurance support, such as finding a surgeon, our nib app allows a member to consult with a GP, fill and have home delivered a prescription, purchase a men's, women's, or non-binary healthcare product, scan skin for damage, complete a health check and design a good health plan supported by clinical machine learning.
What's next?
Looking at what might impact the NIB share price in the year ahead, management said that despite some potential macroeconomic headwinds, the outlook for the ASX 200 insurer is positive.
On the positive side of the ledger, Fitzgibbon said:
COVID-19 made people more aware of risks to their health and the need for protection; public healthcare delivery and financing are under extreme pressure, immigration is adding to populations; foreign students are returning, foreign workers are in high demand; people have rediscovered travel.
However, Fitzgibbon cautioned that fallout from the pandemic, particularly around future claims expenses, continues to drive uncertainty:
There remain consequences for private health insurers, in particular, uncertain demand for healthcare treatment and associated claims costs. To what extent that plays out and how fast, remains hard to predict with any precision.
NIB share price snapshot
With today's intraday gains factored in, the NIB share price is up 8.5% in 2023.
Shares in the ASX 200 health insurer have gained 6% over the past full year, not including the dividend payouts.
