The world's biggest reinsurance company, Munich Re, today unveiled a sharp first quarter loss owing to major disasters in the Asia Pacific region, but said it should still make a profit this year.
Munich Re suffered a net loss of €948m in the three months from January to the end of March, compared with a profit of €485 billion the same time a year earlier, a statement said. Analysts had forecast an even bigger loss of around €1.1 billion.
The slump was widely anticipated following earthquake and weather-related catastrophes in Japan, Australia and New Zealand early this year.
For 2011 as a whole, Munich Re said it expected to turn a profit, without giving a detailed figure. The March 11 earthquake and tsunami in Japan forced the German group to ditch its previous forecast for a net profit of €2.4 billion this year.
