BEIJING -- Ping An Insurance Co, China's second-largest insurer, said late Tuesday that its net profit rose faster in the third quarter to reach 2.13 billion yuan ($337.46 million), marking a year-on-year increase of 20.66 percent.

The quarterly growth rate in the July-September period was much faster than the 9.4-percent growth rate recorded in the first half of this year, according to a statement the insurer filed with the Shanghai and Hong Kong stock exchanges, beating market expectations against the broad backdrop of a slowing economy.

The net profit in the third quarter, however, was much lower than that of the first and second quarters, when the combined net profit totaled 13.96 billion yuan.

The company attributed the decline in profit volume to investment losses in equity markets and write-downs of assets amid sluggish market sentiment.

For the first nine months, earnings per share rose to 2.03 yuan from 1.76 yuan in the January-June period.

Life premium revenues increased 9.8 percent year-on-year to 138.71 billion yuan in the first nine months, while property premium revenues reached 73.89 billion yuan, up 20 percent over the same period of last year.

Ping An Bank, the insurer's banking business, contributed a profit of 5.25 billion yuan in the January-September period after the company bought a 52.38-percent stake in Shenzhen Development Bank last year and changed the development bank's name to Ping An Bank.

Ping An's share price gained 1.1 percent in Shanghai to 38.48 yuan, but fell 1.14 percent to HK$60.5 ($7.80) in Hong Kong on Tuesday.