Genworth Mortgage Insurance Australia announced today a 28.1% rise in third quarter net profit to $25.1 million, taking its overall earnings in the first nine months of the year to $113.2 million.

In a separate update, also released today, Genworth announced that CEO Georgette Nicholas will retire at the end of the year and non-executive director Duncan West will fill the role in an acting capacity until a permanent replacement has been found.

Mr West is also Chairman of Hollard Insurance. A former CEO of Vero Insurance and CGU, he has also chaired Lawcover Insurance and Pacific Life Re. Other directorships he holds include Avant Insurance and Hallmark Life and General Insurance.

Genworth has been searching locally and internationally for a new CEO since the announcement in May that Ms Nicholas would be returning to the US. Her exit date at that time was not finalised.

She will remain with the lenders’ mortgage insurer until the end of March to help with the transition.

Genworth has also secured a three-year extension to its existing contract with key client Commonwealth Bank. The supply and service renewal starts in January and represents about 53% of gross written premium (GWP) in the first-half of this year.

In the September quarter, Genworth recorded a 24.4% jump in GWP to $114.6 million and net earned premium grew 11.9% to $76.2 million.

New insurance written reached $6.4 billion, up 26.4% from a year earlier.

Underlying net profit, including an after-tax realised gain of $8.9 million, increased 29.9% to $26.5 million.

Net profit in the year-to-date went up 84.1%.

Signs of stability in the housing market, particularly in Sydney and Melbourne, underpinned the business during the quarter.

“Overall 3Q performance was solid,” Ms Nicholas told an earnings call this morning.

“The highlight of the strength of this performance is the best gross written premium performance in four years for Genworth.

“Looking ahead, the fundamentals remain sound. We expect this to provide momentum into the fourth quarter. Our 2019 full-year guidance remains unchanged.”

She says net earned premium will likely be at the top of the range of -5% to +5% of last year’s figures and the loss somewhere between 45% and 55%.