Day, and thank you for standing by. Welcome to the Helia Group Limited 2026 half-year results investor conference call. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. After the speaker's presentation, there will be a question- and- answer session. To ask a question during the session, you will need to press star one one on your telephone keypad. Please be advised that today's conference is being recorded. I would now like to hand the conference over to your first speaker today. Please go ahead.
Hello, and welcome to Helia's 2026 half-year results conference call and webcast. I am Paul O'Sullivan, Head of Investor Relations, Capital and Investments. This morning, Helia's Interim CEO, Michael Cant, will start with an overview of the results. Helia's CFO, Craig Ward, will then go into more detail on the 1H 2026 financial results. Michael will then wrap up the presentation with an outlook statement and closing comments. At the end of the presentation, we will pass back to the moderator for a question- and- answer session with analysts and investors. I will now hand over to Michael.
Thank you, Paul. Good morning, everybody, and thank you for joining us. Before commencing the presentation, I would like to acknowledge the Cammeraygal people of the Eora Nation, on whose land I am hosting our call today. I pay my respects to all elders past and present and to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with us today. Helia is a leading risk partner for the home lending industry. For more than 60 years, we have partnered with lenders to accelerate financial well-being through home ownership, enabling low deposit lending through lenders mortgage insurance. We are proud of the role that we play in supporting borrowers across all stages of their property journey, whether they are entering the market for the first time, investing, or upgrading their property. This morning, I am pleased to present our 2026 first half results.
Helia has delivered another strong financial and operational performance despite a challenging industry backdrop. Slide five summarizes our financial performance. Net profit after tax was AUD 100 million, and underlying NPAT, AUD 106.3 million, representing a return on equity of approximately 22%. The profit result benefited from negative total claims incurred, reflecting continuing low delinquencies and strong levels of portfolio equity. However, the result was down on the first half 2025 due to a decline in insurance revenue in the prior period having a more substantial claims benefit as well as large investment gains. The Board has today declared a fully franked interim ordinary dividend of AUD 0.16 per share and an unfranked interim special dividend of AUD 0.27 per share. As shown on slide six, the Australian labor market continues to be resilient, and this has been a major contributor to the low claims environment.
Labor market conditions in the half- year did weaken slightly, with the unemployment rate rising to 4.4%. However, the unemployment rate remains below historical levels, while hours worked and the participation rate remains supportive. In response to persistent inflation, the RBA increased the cash rate target to 4.35% through three consecutive 25 basis point increases. Cost of living pressures driven by inflation and higher interest rates remain a challenge for many borrowers. National dwelling values increased modestly over the half- year with the Cotality Home Value Index rising 1.2% nationally. There are, however, signs of a cyclical peak, with dwelling values in Sydney and Melbourne declining in the second quarter, and other capital cities also down in July. Despite the recent fall in property prices, dwelling values continue to have a significant positive equity buffer for most borrowers.
Home lending activity has softened in recent months as elevated interest rates, affordability pressures, and weaker borrower confidence have dampened demand. Changes to negative gearing and capital gains tax announced in the recent federal budget have further weighed on investor sentiment, contributing headwinds for mortgage lending. Slide seven provides a closer look at the High LVR lending market. Lending in the High LVR segment continues to grow strongly, driven by investor and first-home buyer demand, as well as the challenges in saving a 20% deposit. Despite this positive backdrop, the LMI market in the first quarter of 2026 saw a 14% contraction in the level of new premiums. Lender self-insurance and LMI waivers have continued to be elevated amongst the major banks, and most first-home buyer demand went to the government's 5% deposit scheme.
Helia continues to advocate for a more targeted government scheme, one that directs public support to borrowers who need it most while operating alongside a sustainable private LMI market. Helia's LMI gross written premium market share for the first quarter was approximately 30%, noting that new business from CBA ceased on 31st of January and contributed about 4% of this market share. In-force market share was approximately 50% and steady on the prior period. Slide eight looks at credit performance. Industry arrears were steady in the first half. Helia delinquencies continue to be at modest levels, with closing delinquencies down 4% on December 2025. This decrease is primarily attributable to a smaller in-force book, with the overall delinquency rate flat for the half- year. The in-force portfolio maintains a strong positive equity position. The level of negative equity in the portfolio was again down slightly in the half- year.
The proportion of the portfolio with negative equity remains very low due to the high level of house price appreciation over the last three to five years. As summarized on slide nine, the company's strategy is focused on growing new business and creating a simpler, more efficient organization to drive sustainable long-term performance. After a difficult period in the first half of 2025, the business has stabilized, and we are making good progress on our agenda. During the half- year, we were pleased to have renewed important customer contracts with AMP Bank and ING Bank. As a specialist LMI provider, we seek to add value to our lender customers beyond the simple transfer of risk and to leverage our deep industry expertise to support their growth in High LVR lending. In response to the decline in the overall size of the LMI market, Helia is focused on becoming more efficient.
We are 18 months into our efficiency program and are on track to achieve a AUD 12 million per annum reduction in recurring expenditure by the end of financial year 2026. Our efficiency gains have been underpinned by a focused effort to reduce complexity and increase automation. AI is also playing an important role, with a range of applications across the business. We have also made progress in evolving our risk maturity and resilience, with a particular focus on our cyber capabilities in response to the evolving threat environment. Despite the challenges of downsizing, we have maintained a strong workplace culture, and we continue to invest in our people, including an organizational-wide focus on AI adoption and capability. Slide 10 looks at Helia's gross written premium by lender and borrower type. Helia's lender customer base is well spread across the mid-size banks, customer-owned banks, and non-bank lenders.
As previously mentioned, in the half- year, we had success in renewing some important customer contracts. The share of new business for investor loans increased to 49% for the half- year, reflecting the growth in the investor market, combined with a decline in the use of LMI by first-time buyers due to the presence of the 5% government schemes. Slide 11 shows the progress we have made on costs. Expenditure incurred was down significantly on the prior year, and this was a result of actions to reduce management expenses as well as a sizable fall in acquisition-related costs, which were unusually low for the half- year. The biggest component of our cost base is employee expenses, and the run- rate for staff costs has continued to decrease, with the closing FTE reducing to 151 as at the 1st of July.
On slide 12, you can see our recent history of capital management initiatives. Today, the Board has declared a fully franked interim ordinary dividend of AUD 0.16 per share and an unfranked interim special dividend of AUD 0.27 per share. The Board also approved an on-market share buyback up to a maximum aggregate value of AUD 75 million. As our track record has demonstrated, we are committed to disciplined capital management, with capital returns undertaken in a measured and consistent way over time. I am pleased with the progress we have made over the half year. Financial results are again strong. We renewed a number of important customer contracts, including ING, and we have made good progress on our efficiency agenda with further reductions in ongoing costs. Finally, our capital position remains very strong, and we are continuing to return surplus capital to our shareholders.
I will now hand over to Helia's Chief Financial Officer, Craig Ward, who will provide more detail on the financial results.
Thank you, Michael. I will take you through the financial results for the first half in more detail. As noted, Helia has delivered another strong result in a more challenging operating environment. This reflects the resilience of the in-force portfolio, continued cost discipline, and a very strong balance sheet. I will focus on those three themes as we step through the numbers. Statutory NPAT for the half continued to be strong at AUD 100 million, and underlying NPAT of AUD 106 million. Earnings were well supported by the insurance portfolio. The current period revenue reflected the lower GWP in more recent book years, a smaller benefit from negative incurred claims, and lower investment returns. I will come back to each of these drivers in more detail on the following slides.
Turning to new business, GWP was AUD 61.6 million, down 44% on 1H 2025, mainly driven by the loss of CBA new business from January 2026, and softer first-time buyer volumes following the expansion of the government's 5% deposit scheme. The mix shifted modestly, with investor lending representing a larger share of activity. More broadly, new business conditions have become more challenging with higher interest rates, changes in tax legislation for investor lending, and the government scheme, all creating potential headwinds for the LMI volumes. Insurance revenue was down, reflecting lower GWP in recent years, flowing progressively through the revenue line. The 2020 to 2022 book years, together with earlier vintages, remain significant contributors to revenue and continue to support the earnings profile. These years give the business a degree of resilience while the new business environment is more subdued.
The CSM recognized in profit and loss remains an important source of current period earnings and a reminder that the in-force book still contains substantial future profit. Moving on to insurance service expense, the results reflected two main drivers in the half. Total incurred claims remain negative, although the benefit was smaller than in the prior corresponding period, while operating expenses continued to fall as cost actions flowed through. The total insurance expense ratio was lower in the period at 28%. I will come back to both incurred claims and costs over the next few slides. Looking more closely at portfolio resilience, one of the clearest indicators remains delinquency performance. New delinquencies fell 24%, while closing delinquencies fell 4%, reflecting strong cures and the smaller book of in-force policies. The delinquency rate remained at 0.79%, which is still low by historical standards. The book year profile is important here.
2021 to 2023 vintages have the highest delinquency rates, partly reflecting the lower rate environments at origination and subsequent cash rate increases. This is, however, also a typical pattern, with peak delinquencies usually occurring three to five years after origination. What gives us comfort is that the house price appreciation across those high delinquency years have been material, providing significant positive equity protection. On slide 20, total incurred claims remain negative at AUD 14 million, reflecting favorable experience on delinquencies already in place at the start of the period. Lower new delinquencies also helped, together with strong embedded equity in the seasoned vintages that have since come delinquent. What matters most here is that the experience benefit continues to be favorable, supported by robust cures, cancellations, and strong borrower equity. The gross loss ratio remains well below historical levels and through the cycle average of 24%.
The second component of insurance service expense includes operating expenses. Total operating expenses were down 16% on the prior corresponding period, reflecting management actions to reduce recurring costs in 2025. That reduction is now flowing through the income statement, although acquisition costs reduce more gradually over time. Expenditure incurred reduced materially to AUD 38 million for similar reasons, but was also helped by very low acquisition costs following the loss of CBA and some other one-off benefits. This component of the cost base was therefore unusually low and will remain more volatile than the accounting measure. With lower new business volumes, we are continuing to align the cost base. We remain on track to achieve a AUD 12 million per annum reduction in recurring expenditure by the end of financial year 2026 , with the focus remaining on simplification, lower complexity, and greater efficiency.
Net investment revenue was lower than the prior corresponding period, after 1H 2025 benefited from strong realized and unrealized gains, and 1H 2026 included small losses from rising bond yields. The net investment return for the half was 3.8%, although a useful reference point is the net running yield, which increased to 4.7%. The portfolio remains conservatively positioned and continues to be managed with a disciplined risk profile rather than a high risk-return approach. Interest rate movements only had a negligible impact on net insurance finance expense in the half, particularly because the long end of the curve was relatively stable. Technical assets and insurance liabilities remain closely matched, so the main interest rate sensitivity sits in the shareholder fund. That finalizes the earnings and outcome for the half.
I will now turn to the balance sheet, which continues to underpin both the resilience of those earnings and our capital position. On the balance sheet slide, the net tangible assets per share were lower at 30 June, mainly reflecting the large dividends paid in the period. Cash and investments remained strong at AUD 2.18 billion. Insurance contract liabilities reduced, driven by a lower LRC as the back book continued to run off and a lower LIC due to good claims experience. The balance sheet remains strong, liquid, and conservatively managed, and that continues to give us meaningful flexibility in our capital approach. On slide 25, the technical fund has an average duration of four years, in line with our insurance liabilities. Shareholder fund has a shorter duration of one and a half years, which we reduced in the half in response to more uncertain geopolitical and inflationary backdrop.
Portfolio remains high quality and diversified, and we continue to manage for resilient and consistent returns, the strong liquidity position, and a conservative risk profile. That discipline is important in the current environment. Total insurance and reinsurance contract liabilities reduced from year-end. The LRC was down 6% in the half, reflecting the smaller book of in-force policies. The LRC continues to reflect a long-dated, profitable in-force book, with CSM remaining a substantial component of that balance. CSM balances continued to increase as a proportion of this insurance liability in recent periods. The LIC reduced to AUD 179 million, mainly because of lower reported delinquency reserves and a lower re-delinquency reserve, particularly from cancellations. Looking more closely at CSM, we can see it was lower than year-end. New business continued to add CSM in the half, reflecting the profitability of new business written despite the lower GWP environment.
However, as expected, CSM recognized in profit and loss exceeded new business added. The CSM, however, remains well-diversified by duration, with around one quarter expected to emerge beyond five years. Key takeaway is that the in-force portfolio continues to hold substantial expected future profit, providing good support to future earnings. The next slide shows how the balance sheet strength flows through to regulatory capital. PCA coverage ratio was 2.07 x at 30 June, up 4 basis points half on half, and comfortably above our target range of 1.4x to 1.6 x. PML reduced by 10% in the half, driven by cancellations and portfolio seasoning, which more than offset new business strain. That remains an important reminder that the in-force book continues to generate capital as it matures.
The balance sheet remains strongly capitalized, and we continue to retain flexibility in our capital mix through the issuance of debt and greater reinsurance, should we need. Final slide simply shows how these capital flows reconcile at the half, and the capital walk brings the story together. Dividends paid in the half exceeded statutory NPAT, and the in-force run-off reflecting seasoning of the back book exceeded new business strain. After adjusting the June close position for the interim dividend and the announced buyback, pro forma PCA ratio remains strong at 1.79 x. The walk highlights the underlying strength of the business as the portfolio seasons continues to generate capital, supporting our capacity to pay dividends and return surplus capital to shareholders.
In summary, we have continued to actively manage costs down in the half as revenue reflects a lower new business environment, and we have a strong liquid and conservatively managed balance sheet that positions us well into a more challenging operating environment. Thank you, and I'll now hand back to Michael for the outlook.
Thank you, Craig. I'd now like to turn to the outlook and guidance for Helia for the full- year result, which are summarized on slide 31. Full- year insurance revenue is expected to be in the range of AUD 330 million to AUD 360 million, revised from our earlier guidance of AUD 320 million to AUD 370 million. While economic and property market conditions are becoming more challenging, as Craig noted, the portfolio is well-positioned. Accordingly, the claims ratio for financial year 2026 is expected to remain well below through-the-cycle average levels. Slide 32 highlights Helia's consistent track record of delivery for our shareholders. Our expertise and responsible financial management continue to result in attractive returns, as evidenced by our TSR performance, where we have outperformed the broader market over the medium and longer term. While market conditions are challenging for new business, Helia has the scale, expertise, and execution capability to continue to succeed.
Today will be my last results before retiring later in the year. It has been a privilege to have led Helia, and I have thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity. As we previously announced, Mark Senkevics will be joining Helia as CEO. Mark will be commencing on 19th of October, and I look forward to working with him to support a smooth transition. On behalf of the Board and the senior leadership team, I would like to thank all of our people at Helia. The result we have delivered today is indeed a whole team effort. Thank you also to our lender customers with whom we have worked so closely. Finally, a thank you to our shareholders for your support. I would now like to pass back to the moderator and hand over to questions.
Thank you very much. As a reminder, to ask a question, please press star one one on your telephone and wait for your name to be announced. Just a moment for our first question, please. First question comes from Simon Fitzgerald from Jefferies. Please go ahead.
Hi there. Thank you for taking my questions. I just wanted to get a little bit more information on the expenditure incurred, but more specifically, obviously it relates to the CBA contract, but trying to think a little bit more about how that will look in the second half. I am not quite sure in terms of the CBA effect from last year, but I would imagine there is also an impact of lower new policies written across the board. So wondering if you sort of break those two down for us and sort of call out any specific impacts that we should look for in the second half.
Yes, Simon, it is Michael. I will make a quick comment. You are absolutely right. The loss of CBA new business has seen a corresponding significant drop in acquisition expenses. As Craig noted. The other thing is just the general flow of new business being down, we get a benefit from that. As Craig noted, there is also some lumpiness in some of those acquisition costs, depending on contract renewals. We would be at pains to point out that probably the first half is unusually low in that respect. The first half has definitely, there is a benefit or reduction from no acquisition costs relating to CBA, but it is unusually low.
Okay, that's helpful. Thank you. Maybe I could then move to just sort of the capital reduction, but call out specifically the PML. You mentioned it was down 10% in this half, and it was down, I think, 6% in the prior half. So we're getting that acceleration starting to come through a little bit. Should we be thinking about a similar type of uptick in terms of the reduction for the second half in the PML?
Yeah, look, again, we don't provide a forecast. What I would say is that the PML comes off relatively quickly at points three and five from duration. So one of the dynamics we're getting is we had big book years in 2020 and 2021 and to a lesser extent 2022. And obviously they're coming out of their peak capital periods, and that doesn't happen overnight. That's a gradual feel.
Got you. Okay, good. And then the delinquencies, I just wanted to talk about that a little bit. I know that you mentioned that we're starting to see some peak coming through in the cycle for Sydney, Melbourne, but it looks to me like in terms of the delinquency increase, it's all Canberra. Just wondering if you had any comments about that.
Yes. Look, I'd say the overall point on delinquencies is that trying to find a trend at this point is difficult. The overall message is that delinquency, it continues to be very favorable, and I wouldn't read too much into any pockets of particular geographies. I think the second half will be one that we'll want to watch carefully, but I don't think we've got a specific view on locations at this stage.
Even then, if we were to see some impacts in the second half, from a delinquency point of view or even arrears from a bank level, it is still going to take some time before it ever were to come out close to a claim anyway, given your late cycle.
That is right. So it is first of all got to come through as a delinquency. The second precondition is that typically you have then got to have a house price depreciation that takes the policy into negative equity, and there is an actual loss. So there are a number of factors that would have to play through before we really see claims start to come through.
That is very helpful. Thank you.
Thank you. Just a moment for our next question, please. Next, we have Jason Shao from Macquarie.
Hi, guys. Thanks for taking my questions. Just a question on the reserving basis. So there was a reserving basis change of AUD 5 million release in half. Just trying to reconcile that given the reduction in house prices they're currently seeing. Is it partly because reserving assumptions were set prior to June 2026, and there was still a house price increase, technically, over the first half 2026?
Yeah. I'll take that one, Jason. Look, end of the day, our observed reserving position is still very positive. As you've seen, we've got very strong delinquency performance, very modest negative equity, and robust cure rates. So when we do our reserving, we've got to start with the observed position. To your point, we do also consider the forward economic view and take a pragmatic view of that, including potential downside scenarios. But the reality is, at the half- year end, it was still a very favorable position for us around reserving.
Jason, it's Michael. But maybe just a slight bit of more color in the quantum of basis change is materially lower than in recent half years. So nearly all the benefit or the negative claims coming from the actual experience. And that's been a very deliberate thing from the actuary.
While experience continues to be very favorable, we are deliberately being cautious in the basis, given the environment and the outlook. So as Craig said, it was somewhat of a balancing act between continuing very favorable experience, but recognizing the environment does look more challenging.
Great. Thanks so much. That makes sense. And just one on your sensitivities. I do note that your sensitivities to economic outcomes have increased, and notably, that reduction in house prices now have an AUD 20 million impact on your claims reserves. And last period it was around AUD 10 million. But over the course of first half 2026, there was, as I mentioned, a technical house price increase over the full half, which suggests that the amount of equity in your portfolio has improved. What has driven that increased sensitivity to these macroeconomic conditions, especially as your LIC balance still decreases over time? And does it suggest that you're now more exposed to an economic slowdown than the last period?
Jason, I wouldn't have expected we're any more or less materially exposed. The big thing we've got is large levels of positive equity. We've always said it's the combination of unemployment and house price falls over a medium-term horizon that is the real sensitivity. I'm happy to take on notice, or ask Craig to take on notice the specific shift in the sensitivity that's shown there. But at a big-ticket level, I don't feel that we're materially changed and that our environment is big, particularly given the level of house positive equity. We have a reasonable buffer for modest levels of any future falls in house prices.
Okay, understood. Thanks so much, and congratulations, Michael, and all the best for your future as well.
Thanks, Jason.
Thank you. That concludes the question- and- answer session. I'll now hand back to Michael. Thank you.
Look, thank you everyone on the call. I just want to say in closing, I really do appreciate your time and interest in Helia. Hopefully, as you've seen from our update today, we are very pleased to have delivered another strong result for our shareholders. While we acknowledge the environment does have some challenges, I'm confident that we are well-placed to continue to deliver for all our stakeholders going forward. Thank you.
This concludes today's conference call. Thank you for participating. You may now disconnect.