Allianz : profits up seven-fold in 3rd quarter

German insurance giant Allianz said Friday that net profit soared nearly seven-fold in the third quarter, as year-earlier figures had been hit by heavy writedowns on its holdings of Greek bonds. On the back of the strong performance, Allianz upheld its full-year forecast for operating profit of more than 9.0 billion euros ($11.5 billion). Allianz said in a statement it booked bottom-line net profit of 1.344 billion euros in the period from July to September, compared with 196 million euros a year earlier. Operating profit grew by 32.8 percent to 2.532 billion euros on a 4.7-percent increase in revenues to 25.2 billion euros, the statement said. "In the third quarter, we continued momentum from the first half of the year," the company boasted, saying that all three business segments -- property and casualty, life and health and asset management -- saw improvements. "Following the strong operating performance, we expect full-year operating profit to exceed 9.0 billion euros, assuming no adverse developments during the remainder of the year," Allianz said. "Net income development will continue to be influenced by balance sheet strengthening including investment de-risking and restructuring activities," it said.