Munich Re, the world’s largest reinsurance company, has posted a third-quarter loss as the bottom of its equity portfolio continues to crumble.

The company’s third-quarter net loss of $1.5 billion was an improvement on its loss of $2.1 billion a year ago, when its results were severely hit by September 11.

Losses of up to $885 million from the European floods also contributed to the recent loss, but that’s as far as losses go for the German giant. It has posted a $5.6 billion profit for the first nine months of this year. “The capital market situation will affect our result in the fourth quarter as well, but the net result for the year will nevertheless be higher than last year,” senior board member Dr Jörg Schneider said.

Munich Re intends to continue generating growth in its reinsurance business. Not only is it predicting continued growth in profits next year, but also an upswing in reinsurance business.