Earnings Labs

Greenlight Capital Re, Ltd. (GLRE)

Q1 2024 Earnings Call· Sat, May 11, 2024

$18.77

-0.50%

Key Takeaways · AI generated
AI summary not yet generated for this transcript. Generation in progress for older transcripts; check back soon, or browse the full transcript below.
Transcript

Operator

Operator

Thank you for joining the Greenlight Capital Re Ltd First Quarter 2024 Earnings Conference. [Operator Instructions]. And as a reminder, this conference is being recorded. It is now my pleasure to turn the call over to David Sigmon, Greenlight Re's General Counsel. You may begin.

David Sigmon

Analyst

Thank you, and good morning. I would like to remind you that this conference call is being recorded and will be available for replay following the conclusion of the event. An audio replay will also be available under the Investors section of the company's website at www.greenlightre.com. Joining us on the call today will be our Chief Executive Officer, Greg Richardson, Chairman of the Board; David Einhorn; and Chief Financial Officer, Faramarz Romer. On behalf of the company, I'd like to remind you that forward-looking statements may be made during this call and are intended to be covered by the safe harbor provisions of the federal securities laws. These forward-looking statements reflect the company's current expectations, estimates and predictions about future results and are subject to risks and uncertainties. As a result, actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied. For more information on the risks and other factors that may impact future performance, investors should review the periodic reports that are filed by the company with the SEC from time to time. Additionally, management may refer to certain non-GAAP financial measures. The reconciliations to these measures can be found in the company's filings with the SEC, including the company's recently filed Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2024. The company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements. With that, it is now my pleasure to turn the call over to Greg.

Greg Richardson

Analyst

Thanks, David. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us today. Greenlight Re had a strong first quarter with gross written premium up 16.5% compared to the first quarter of 2023. We delivered net income of $27 million, which equates to 3.9% growth in fully diluted book value per share during the quarter or 16.5% on an annualized basis. We reported a combined ratio of 98% for the quarter, our sixth consecutive quarter of underwriting profitability. Our underwriting result includes a $10.1 million loss net of recoveries and reinstatement premiums from the tragic collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore. This equates to 6.3% combined ratio points for the quarter. Our exposure to this loss is predominantly driven by our specialty book, where we reinsure a number of cedents to provide cover to the international group. Based on an industry loss estimate of approximately $3 billion, we have assumed a full limit loss to this cover. Our net loss position benefits from excess of loss outwards reinsurance protection with additional protection still available if the industry loss estimate deteriorates. Accordingly, we expect limited variability in our loss reserve from this event. Our underwriting portfolio favors shorter-tail specialty classes such as marine, so a loss of this magnitude falls within our range of expectations despite the Baltimore bridge loss perhaps being the largest marine loss in history. We were able to absorb it during the quarter while still delivering a small underwriting profit. Moreover, we expect the marine market rates to harden as a result of this significant event. The 16.5% growth in first quarter gross written premium was primarily driven by growth in our casualty and specialty books as we took advantage of the strong rate environment. We were pleased to grow these classes of business in…

David Einhorn

Analyst

Great. Thanks, Greg, and good morning, everyone. The Solasglas fund returned 5.2% in the first quarter. Our loan portfolio added 4.4%. The short portfolio was flat and macro added 1.8%. During the quarter, the S&P 500 Index advanced 10.6%. The largest positive contributors were long investments in Green Brick Partners and Tenet Healthcare, an interest rate-related position and gold. The largest detractors were long positions in CONSOL Energy and PENN Entertainment and a single name short position. Green Brick Partners advanced 16% after the company announced strong fourth quarter results. The company continues to perform well in its core markets and appears well positioned for another strong year in 2024. Tenet Healthcare rose 39%, benefiting from ongoing strength in health care utilization and the sale of additional hospitals at premium multiples. Early in the quarter, we established a new macro position by selling December 24 SOFR futures. At the time, the market expected the Federal Reserve to cut short-term interest rates between 6 and 7x this year. The position benefited as the market came around our view by the end of the quarter with only about 2 to 3.25 basis point cut priced again for 2024. We trimmed the position to take some profits. Gold was also a significant contributor as the price advanced more than 8% during the quarter. CONSOL Energy shares fell 17% due to moderately lower coal pricing early in the quarter and the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore Harbor later in the quarter. The bridge collapse will prevent CONSOL from exporting coal from its local terminal in the near term, but we do not believe this to have a long-term relevance for this investment. I will note this is the first time in many years where we saw risk aggregation on both…

Faramarz Romer

Analyst

Thank you, David, and good morning, everyone. During the first quarter of 2024, we generated earnings of $27.0 million or $0.78 per diluted share compared to $5.9 million or $0.17 per diluted share in Q1 2023. The underwriting book generated a $3.4 million profit after underwriting-related G&A expenses, which equates to a combined ratio of 98.0%. Current period catastrophe losses accounted for $12.4 million or 7.7% combined ratio points, mainly related to the Baltimore bridge incident as well as losses from satellite failures. As Greg stated, we have booked the bridge loss at the full limit of our share of the underlying international group cover. Adverse loss development in the quarter primarily related to 2023 events, including an oil platform fire, Hurricane Otis and U.S. convective storms as well as reserve strengthening on a general liability program relating to the 2015 to 2017 years. The adverse development was partially offset by reserve releases on the FAL 2021 ERF account and matured specialty excessive loss contracts. While none of these individually were significant, we generally tend to lean into adverse information quicker and wait for more clarity on favorable developments. The net adverse development of $5.4 million accounted for 3.3 combined ratio points during the first quarter of 2024. The rest of the current in-force book performed in line with our expectations. During the first quarter, our net premiums written increased by $18.8 million or 10.7% to $194.1 million compared to the same quarter in 2023. The growth was split between our casualty and specialty books, while the property book offset some of the increases. The net premiums earned were $161.5 million, an increase of $18.9 million or 13.2% compared to the same quarter in 2023. Turning to our casualty book. Net premiums written increased by $12.3 million or 14.1% during…

Operator

Operator