Munich Re posts sharp rise in Q3 profit and sticks to full-year target

FRANKFURT (Reuters) -The German reinsurer Munich Re on Tuesday said it posted a better-than-expected rise in net profit in the third quarter on the back of below average major claims, and it stuck to its main profit target for 2025.

Net profit in the quarter was 1.997 billion euros ($2.33 billion), up from 907 million euros a year ago. Analysts had expected net profit of 1.926 billion euros.

The profit figure in part reflects a bounceback from a year earlier, when claims for major losses were particularly high after Hurricane Helene.

The world's largest reinsurer said net profit in its property-casualty reinsurance business "rose significantly ... due primarily to a very low major-loss expenditure".

For 2025, the division's combined ratio - a measure of profitability - is expected at around 74%, an improvement from previous expectations of around 79%.

It kept its full-year profit target at 6 billion euros.

($1 = 0.8575 euros)

(Reporting by Tom Sims and Alexander Huebner, Editing by Miranda Murray)