| AP BERLIN (AP) -- German reinsurer Munich Re AG said Thursday that its net income surged to euro644 million ($950.6 million) during the third quarter, lifted by a significant boost in investment revenue and fewer weather-related claims. The company, based in Munich, said the July-September figure was dramatically better than the euro3 million loss it reported a year earlier, and reflected the lack of major hurricane activity during the summer along with fewer catastrophe-related claims. Reinsurers sell backup coverage to other insurers, spreading risk so the system can handle large or widespread losses. Munich Re also operates Ergo, one of Germany's biggest insurers, and Munich Reinsurance America Inc. "We have continued to gear our operations resolutely to profitability and are once again presenting good results," Chief Financial Officer Joerg Schneider said in a statement. Despite Schneider's confidence and the company's results, Munich Re shares were down 1.3 percent to euro105.98 in Frankfurt morning trading. Gross written premiums, a measure of revenue, were 12 percent higher at nearly euro10.4 billion compared with about euro9.3 billion a year earlier. Investment returns, the primary driver behind its improved profit, skyrocketed to euro2.2 billion from euro662 million in the third quarter 2008. Looking ahead, the company said it was expecting a group profit of between euro2.2 billion and euro2.5 billion for 2009, which would be "at least euro700 million more than in 2008." From January through September, Munich Re's net income was euro1.8 billion compared with euro1.4 billion a year earlier and gross written premiums rose 10 percent to euro31 billion from euro28.1 billion.
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