Genworth jumps 27% as securities sale, mortgage unit fuel profit

August 03, 2016 at 06:53 AM
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(Bloomberg) — Genworth Financial Inc. posted its biggest intraday gain since 2009 after reporting a second-straight quarterly profit as Chief Executive Officer Tom McInerney reshapes the insurer to rebound from losses on long-term care coverage.

The insurer rose 74 cents, or 27 percent, to $3.49 at 9:37 a.m. in New York, narrowing its loss for the year to about 6 percent. Genworth reported Tuesday that net income in the three months ended June 30 was $172 million, compared with a loss of $193 million during the same period a year earlier. Operating profit, which excludes some investment results, was 25 cents a share, beating by 5 cents the average estimate of seven analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.

McInerney has been selling European units to help pay down debt after posting a $1.24 billion loss in 2014 on higher-than-expected costs for long-term care insurance, which pays for home health aides and nursing home stays. The company benefited in the second quarter from a gain on the sale of Treasury Inflation Protected Securities and improved results in the U.S. unit that backs home loans.

Genworth "likely moved a step closer to the re-establishment of the operational stability across its franchise that is a prerequisite for the successful restructuring of the company," Mark Palmer, an analyst at BTIG, said Wednesday in a note. After disappointing investors in several prior periods, Genworth cleared the "low-expectations bar with a strong quarterly report highlighted by an earnings beat, strong performances from its U.S. and Canadian mortgage insurance units, and a display of steadiness from its troubled long-term care" unit.

The insurer was cut to junk by S&P Global Ratings in 2014, and was removed from the S&P 500 Index last year amid a stock plunge. McInerney halted sales of traditional life policies and fixed annuities in February. That's increased reliance on U.S. mortgage insurance, where second-quarter profit climbed 24 percent to $61 million.

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