[ad_1]
(Adds financial details throughout)
Aug 6 (Reuters) – The slide in U.S. stock prices punished
Berkshire Hathaway Inc’s
quarter as the company run by billionaire Warren Buffett posted
a $43.8 billion loss.
Berkshire nevertheless posted better operating results, as
improved results from reinsurance and the BNSF railroad offset a
loss from the Geico car insurer, where car parts shortages and
higher vehicle prices boosted losses on accident claims.
Rising interest rates helped Berkshire’s insurance units
generate more money from investments, while the strengthening
U.S. dollar boosted profit from the company’s European and
Japanese debt investments.
Investors closely watch Berkshire because of Buffett’s
reputation, and because results from its dozens of operating
units in the insurance, railroad manufacturing, energy and
retail sectors often mirror broader economic trends.
Berkshire’s net loss was equal to $29,754 per Class A share,
and compared with a net profit of $28.1 billion, or $18,488 per
Class A share, a year earlier.
Quarterly operating profit rose 39% to $9.28 billion, or
about $6,326 per Class A share, from $6.69 billion, or $4,424
per Class A share, a year earlier.
Berkshire slowed repurchases of its own stock, buying back
$1 billion in the quarter and $4.2 billion so far this year.
It also bought more than $6.1 billion of stocks, down from
$51.1 billion in the first quarter, when it took major stakes in
oil companies Chevron Corp
Berkshire ended June with $105.4 billion of cash and
equivalents. It expects to complete its $11.6 billion takeover
of insurance company Alleghany Corp
Net results swing wildly because the Omaha, Nebraska-based
conglomerate must report investment gains and losses on its
stock holdings even if it buys and sells nothing.
That proved a drag in the second quarter, as Berkshire
recorded $53 billion of losses from investments and derivatives.
The stocks of three major holdings — Apple Inc
Bank of America Corp
each fell more than 21%.
Buffett urges investors to ignore the fluctuations, and
Berkshire will make money if stocks rise over time.
In 2020, for example, Berkshire lost nearly $50 billion in
the first quarter as the COVID-19 pandemic took hold, but made
$42.5 billion for the full year.
Berkshire owns dozens of businesses that also include its
namesake energy operations, several manufacturing companies, and
consumer companies such as Duracell batteries, Fruit of the Loom
underwear and See’s Candies.
The company’s shares have outperformed the broader U.S.
market in 2022, falling 2% compared with a 13% drop in the
Standard & Poor’s 500.
(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; editing by Jason
Neely and Diane Craft)
((jon.stempel@thomsonreuters.com; +1 646 223 6317; Reuters
Messaging: jon.stempel.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))
Keywords: BERKSHIRE RESULTS/ (UPDATE 2, PIX)
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
[ad_2]
Source link
