Munich Re Doubles Q3 Profit Despite Big Storm Losses in Europe, U.S.

German reinsurer Munich Re doubled its profit in the third quarter, despite big losses from storms in Europe and the United States, it said on Tuesday, but left its forecasts for the year unchanged.

Profit rose to around 400 million euros ($466.24 million) in the period, compared with 199 million euros a year earlier and better than analyst expectations for a small loss of 10 million euros, Munich Re said.

The company said it was sticking to its profit target of 2.8 billion euros for the full year as the industry bounces back from 2020 and the burdens of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Floods from storm Bernd in Germany and elsewhere will result in around 600 million euros in losses, while Hurricane Ida in the United States caused damages of around 1.2 billion euros, the company said.

Munich Re published the preliminary figures ahead of schedule. Full results are due on Nov. 9.

($1 = 0.8579 euros) (Reporting by Tom Sims; editing by Riham Alkousaa, Emma Thomasson and Louise Heavens)