Frankfurt - Hanover RE Group issued a profit warning Tuesday as the round of market turmoil and hurricanes undercut the world's fourth biggest reinsurer's earnings.

German-based Hanover said in a statement a sharp fall in equity prices and an above-average burden of catastrophe losses led to a decline in profit to 30 September.

With the capital market crisis intensifying as the year has unfolded, Hanover said its profit forecast for the full 2008 financial year was "no longer attainable".

The impact on Hanover came despite the writedowns undertaken by the group since the crisis began to emerge, triggering turmoil on world share markets.

The release of Hanover's statement came in the wake of the damage caused to parts of the United States by the hurricanes Gustav and Ike. (dpa)