Allianz Life, Europe's biggest insurer, increased its target for full-year operating profit after third-quarter earnings rose 6.3 percent, beating analysts' estimates.
Net income advanced to 1.45 billion euros ($1.94 billion) from 1.36 billion euros a year earlier, the Munich-based company said in a statement today. That compared with the 1.37 billion-euro average estimate of 14 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. Natural disasters, in particular storms that hit Germany and Ireland in July and August, cost the insurer 464 million euros in the quarter, it said.
Allianz, led by Chief Executive Officer Michael Diekmann, raised its 2013 earnings goal to "slightly above" 9.7 billion euros as higher third-quarter profit in non-life insurance offset losses from European hailstorms and a fall in investment income. Insurers' earnings are under pressure as lower interest rates hurt returns from bonds.
