Greenlight Re announces results and share repurchase plan

Greenlight Capital Re, Ltd. (NASDAQ: GLRE: 21.44, -0.67, -3.03%) has announced financial results for the second quarter of 2008 reporting net income of $33.5 million for the second quarter of 2008 compared to a net income of $21.3 million for the same period in 2007. On a fully diluted basis, net income per share was $0.92 for the second quarter of 2008, compared to $0.76 for the same period in 2007. Fully diluted book value per share was $17.29 as of June 30, 2008, a 9.4% increase over $15.81 per share as of June 30, 2007.

For the six months ended June 30, 2008, net income was $28.8 million compared to $8.2 million for the same period in 2007. On a fully diluted basis, net income per share was $0.79 for the six months ended June 30, 2008, compared to $0.33 for the same period in 2007.

"We were successful this quarter in creating value on both sides of our balance sheet." said David Einhorn, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Greenlight Re. "We continue to focus our underwriting activities on creating economic profits, and we benefited in the second quarter from positive returns in our asset portfolio during a challenging investment environment."

Greenlight Re’s financial and operating highlights for the first half of 2008 include the following:

Gross written premiums in the second quarter were $25.4 million compared to $65.4 million in the second quarter of 2007, while net earned premiums were $24.7 million compared to $25.0 million. For the first six months, gross premiums written were $96.1 million compared to $103.5 million for the first six months of 2007, while net earned premiums were $52.2 million compared to $45.9 million.

The combined ratio for the six months ended June 30, 2008 was 92.5% compared to 94.3% for the six months ended June 30, 2007.

Net investment income in the second quarter was $31.0 million, a return of 4.5% on our investment portfolio, compared to $19.9 million in the second quarter of 2007, a 6.8% return on our investment portfolio. For the first six months of 2008, net investment income was $25.3 million compared to $5.5 million in the six months ended June 30, 2007.

"Our underwriting portfolio continues to perform in line with our expectations." said Len Goldberg, Chief Executive Officer of Greenlight Re. "Our premium numbers were lower in the second quarter primarily due to clients reducing planned exposures in an increasingly competitive market. This further affirms our underwriting strategy; most of our frequency based business is written with significant risk sharing and profit sharing incentives to align interests between Greenlight Re and our clients."

On 5 August, 2008, the Board of Directors adopted a share repurchase plan authorizing the Company to repurchase up to two million Class A ordinary shares. The plan, which expires on 30 June, 2011, will enable it to repurchase Class A ordinary shares from time to time to optimize the Company’s capital structure. Class A ordinary shares may be purchased in the open market or through privately negotiated transactions. The firm will hold a live conference call to discuss its financial results today, Thursday 7 August 7, 2008 at 9:00 a.m. Eastern time. To participate, please dial in to the conference call at (877) 362-3812 (domestic) or (706) 634-9925 (international), access code 57817864. The conference call topic is Greenlight Re Earnings Conference Call.