FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Munich Re's net profit in the second quarter rose around 90% from a year earlier, beating expectations and giving it confidence of meeting its 2021 profit target.
The German reinsurer said in an unscheduled announcement that expenses for major losses were below average in the period, due to relatively low losses from natural catastrophes.
Preliminary net profit rose to around 1.1 billion euros ($1.3 billion), the company said. That is up from 579 million euros last year when it was hit by heavy losses related to the coronavirus pandemic.
It is also higher than the 808 million euros expected by analysts.
Munich Re said that it was "well on track" to meet its annual profit target of 2.8 billion euros.
The company didn't make any reference to damage from last week's severe floods in western Europe, expected to cost the industry billions.
Complete figures for the quarter are scheduled to be published on Aug. 10.
($1 = 0.8498 euros)
($1 = 0.8493 euros)