ZURICH (Reuters) - Zurich Insurance beat forecasts with a 3 percent rise in 2012 net profit after big fourth-quarter investment gains offset charges taken against its German business and Storm Sandy-related payouts.

Strong growth at recently acquired Latin American and Malaysian businesses helped boost margins at the Swiss insurer which reported full-year profit of $3.88 billion, compared with a forecast for $3.27 billion in a Reuters poll.

“Realised (fourth-quarter) investment gains of $946 million were much higher than expected. We estimated $30 million, in Q3 Zurich had $15 million – and that explains the bottom line beat,” Helvea analyst Daniel Bischof said on Thursday.

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