FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Hannover Re posted a better than expected 30 percent rise in second quarter net profit, helped by a strong performance in reinsurance on cars and homes.
Quarterly net profit at the world's third biggest reinsurer rose to 186 million euros ($248 million) from 144 million in the year earlier quarter, outpacing the average forecast of 176 million euros in a Reuters poll.
“Property casualty reinsurance did extraordinarily well despite a range of large claims in the second quarter,” Chief Financial Officer Roland Vogel told journalists.
Hannover Re's hit from large losses was 260 million euros in the first half of the year, most of which fell in the second quarter, including 137 million for European floods in June.
The company confirmed its target for full-year net profit of 800 million euros. Analysts polled by Reuters ahead of results had pencilled in 825 million.
Shares rose 2.3 percent to 57.82 euros by 0745 GMT, against a flat STOXX Europe 600 insurance index.
“Hannover Re has at first glance reported an overall solid second quarter result with a positive surprise from the non-life reinsurance segment and a weak result from the life reinsurance segment,” said DZ Bank analystThorsten Wenzel in a note.
Quarterly operating profit in life reinsurance fared worse than expected, falling 30 percent due to losses in the reinsurer's book of U.S. mortality business.
Hannover Re, in which insurer Talanx has a 50.2 percent stake, trades at 8.1 times 12-month forward earnings, a discount to global market leaders Munich Re and Swiss Re, which trade at multiples of 8.4 and 8.7, respectively, according to Thomson Reuters StarMine.
($1 = 0.7513 euros) (Reporting by Jonathan Gould; Editing by Peter Dinkloh and Louise Heavens)
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