Genworth - safe as houses

Genworth - safe as houses? Chris Stott, CIO, Wilson Asset Management. Last week mortgage insurer Genworth (ASX: GMA) reported an after tax profit of $42.5 million for the period since its listing on 19 May 2014. The result was accompanied by a profit upgrade with the company now forecasting full year profit of between $231.1 million and $250 million, which at the top end is up 8% from its prospectus guidance. In our view, Genworth is a clear beneficiary of Australia's strong housing market. Given that interest rates are forecast to remain at historically low levels and the positive impact this will have on the housing market, we believe that Genworth's earnings guidance is conservative. Since listing at $2.65 per share, GMA's stock price has surged around 29% to $3.43 making it one of the best performing IPOs this calendar year. We own Genworth in our investment portfolio. (VIEW LINK)