At a glance

  • Helia paid 126c per share in dividends with ex-dates in the 12 months to 24 September 2026, and 94c of that came as special dividends.
  • Strip out the specials and the Ordinary Dividends of 32c equal a much more modest Yield of 5.88%.
  • The specials were funded from surplus Capital and are not recurring, so the headline yield is not a guide to future income.

Helia (ASX:HLI) is an Australian lenders Mortgage insurer, usually shortened to LMI. When a buyer borrows with a small deposit, the lender often requires LMI. If that borrower later defaults and the sale of the property does not cover the outstanding loan, the insurer covers the lender's shortfall.

Helia collects those premiums and must hold capital against the risk of future claims. When the housing market holds up and claims stay low, that capital can build beyond what the Business needs to keep in reserve. Rather than sitting on the excess, Helia has chosen to hand it back to shareholders through special dividends and an extended buyback.

That is the real engine behind the 23.16% figure. It is not a sudden leap in recurring profits. It is a return of surplus capital, which is a very different thing for anyone trying to estimate what the shares might pay in the years ahead.

How were the dividends in the last 12 months made up?

Helia's 126c total came from its regular payment dates, each topped up with a special dividend:

FY25 final (ex-dividend 10 March 2026, paid 26 March 2026): a 16c fully franked ordinary Dividend plus a 67c Special Dividend that was 87% franked.

1H26 interim (ex-dividend 20 August 2026, paid 4 September 2026): a 16c fully franked ordinary dividend plus a 27c special dividend that was unfranked.

Put the ordinary portions together and you get 32c. The specials account for the other 94c. Most of the cash shareholders received came from specials funded by surplus capital, not from ordinary dividends.

Which yield number should investors actually pay attention to?

A trailing yield simply looks backward. It takes the dividends with ex-dates over the past 12 months and divides them by today's share price. For Helia, that means 126 ÷ 544, which produces 23.16%. The maths is correct, but it describes what has already happened rather than what will happen next.

Because the specials are not recurring, the ordinary-only yield of 5.88% is arguably the better starting point for anyone thinking about Helia as a steady income stock. That number is built on the 32c of fully franked ordinary dividends alone, and it still looks respectable for a company in the S&P/ASX 200.

The grossed-up figure of 30.25% needs its own caveat. Franking credits are only worth their full value to investors who can use them, such as those in low tax brackets or super funds in pension phase. Someone who cannot use the credits gets far less benefit from the grossed-up number than the headline implies. Tax circumstances vary.

What could change the picture from here?

The biggest caveat is simple: the specials were funded from surplus capital and are not recurring. If Helia's capital position tightens, or the board decides to deploy the excess in other ways, future dividends could fall back toward ordinary levels. Anyone buying the shares today expecting another 126c over the coming 12 months is making an assumption the facts do not support.

The housing market is the other swing factor. An LMI business does well when borrowers keep paying and property prices hold firm. A rise in mortgage stress or a fall in home values could lift claims, which would eat into the very capital that has been funding these payouts.

Capital management choices matter too. Helia has extended its buyback of up to $75m. Buybacks can support earnings per share, but they do not show up in the Dividend Yield at all. If the company leans more heavily on buybacks in future, the yield could shrink even if total returns to shareholders stay healthy.