Munich Re posted a smaller-than-expected net loss in the first quarter after being battered by earthquakes in Japan and New Zealand.

The quarterly net loss was 947 million euros ($1.4 billion), world's biggest reinsurer said in a statement on Monday.

This compares with an expected net loss of 1.06 billion euros that was the average of 10 estimates in a Reuters poll of banks and brokerages.

(Reporting by Jonathan Gould)

($1=.6953 Euro)

Japan