Flagstone Reinsurance Holdings, SA beat Wall Street expectations last night reporting a second quarter 2012 book value per share of $11.73 — up 1.2 percent for the quarter.Analysts estimated revenues of $99.1 million but the company came in with a reported $108.3 million.The company’s net income for the quarter was $13.5 million, or 19 cents per share, compared to the net loss of $20.2 million it suffered during the same period of 2011.The company attributed the difference in results to a lack of significant loss events in the first half of 2012 compared to the same period in 2011, during which Flagstone suffered great losses connected to the Australian floods, cyclone Yasi, the New Zealand earthquake of February 2011 and the earthquake and tsunami in Japan. The company posted a net loss of $326 million for 2011.For the second quarter, Flagstone produced a loss ratio of 54.1 percent and a combined ratio of 94.1 percent.“We are pleased with our second quarter results as we continue to benefit from the strategic shift in our business model as Flagstone becomes a more focused and efficient underwriter,” said Flagstone CEO David Brown. “Evidence of the effectiveness of this strategy and its benefits could be seen this quarter with reduced frequency and attritional losses, coupled with our ongoing expense saving initiatives, which drove positive underwriting performance despite significant tornado, wind, and wildfire industry losses in the United States during the quarter.“Flagstone’s improved performance in the second quarter also reflects the benefits of attractive rates in our core business, which partially offset the reduction in income as we continue to reposition our portfolio. Furthermore, our mid-year underwriting renewals were strong and are a testament to our value in the marketplace and demonstrate our commitment to our clients.”Flagstone wrote a lot less business in the second quarter of this year than it did in Q2 of 2011. Gross premiums written were $171.2 million — down 35.2 percent from the same period in 2011 when it reported it wrote $264.1 million. The company said the decrease was the result of an overall decrease in its risk appetite and it its shareholder’s equity following the losses it sustained last year.The company says it is nearing the completion of the “business realignment” it announced in October 2011 and that it remains focused on its plan to decrease operating leverage and lower overall risk.Flagstone Re has been working to reduce its operational assets this year, selling its stake in Island Heritage to BF&M and also divesting its Lloyd’s interests. The Island Heritage transaction was complete on April 5, 2012 and the Lloyd’s transaction is expected to be completed before the end of third quarter of this year.