The German insurance giant Allianz said last Friday that its second-quarter net profit plunged by 45.6 per cent from the same period a year earlier to €1.02 billion.

The quarter rounded out a first half that was “marked by exceptionally high natural catastrophe losses,” a statement quoted chief executive Michael Diekmann as saying.

The group said the fall also stemmed from “a low level of harvesting” compared with the same period a year earlier, when Allianz booked a high level of gains on investments in stocks, debt securities and real estate.

It reported a gain of €181 million for that line this year, against €959 million in the second quarter of 2009.

Allianz’s operating profit this year gained 22.7 per cent, however, to €2.19 billion, while sales were 14.5 per cent higher at €25.4 billion, it said.

For the first six months of 2010, the insurer made an operating profit of €3.9 billion, allowing Diekmann to confirm its full-year forecast.

“We are confident that we can achieve our outlook for operating profit for the entire year of around €7.2 billion, with a fluctuation range of plus or minus €500 million,” he said.

Breaking down the data, Allianz said second-quarter gross premiums, the industry’s term for sales, in its property and casualty division had gained 4.5 per cent on the year to €10 ­billion.

Claims from natural disasters in the quarter amounted to €255 million.

Sales in the life and health insurance division gained 20 per cent to €14.1 billion.

The group’s asset management unit more than doubled its operating profit to €516 million from €246 million a year earlier.

Division chief Oliver Baete said: “With positive net inflows for six consecutive quarters, we are succeeding in growing our asset management business into a real performance engine.

“The contribution of this business to Allianz Group net income has grown significantly over time and accounted for 21.2 per cent in the second quarter.”