Greenlight Re CEO Burton bemoans 'weak' 2018 performance as losses continue

Hedge fund-backed Greenlight Re's CEO Simon Burton admitted "weak" performance in 2018 as the reinsurer posted a loss in both its fourth quarter 2018 and  full year results, but remains optimistic about the company's positioning and its value-investing strategy.

The Cayman Islands-based reinsurer posted a full-year net loss of $350.1 million, compared with a net loss of $45 million in 2017.

Greenlight Capital Re was impacted by net investment losses of $56.4 million in the fourth quarter, and an underwriting loss of $18 million, primarily related to hurricane Michael and wildfires in California.

The combined ratio for the year was 102.8 percent, compared with 108.6 percent for the prior year period.

The company's full-year gross written premiums fell to $567.5 million from $692.7 million reported in the prior year.

Burton said: “While our financial performance in 2018 was weak, I am optimistic about our positioning. Through the year we steadily improved the profile of our underwriting business, which has led to a solid start to 2019.

"I’m encouraged by opportunities we are seeing in the open market and in our Innovations and other strategic partnerships and the progress has been achieved without compromising our focus on expense control," he added. "I am also a firm believer in our value-investing strategy and its potential to generate strong returns for our shareholders.”

David Einhorn, chairman of the board of directors, commented: “The December equity market sell off contributed significantly to our fourth quarter investment loss. We remain committed to our long-term investing strategy despite a difficult environment for value investing in 2018.”

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