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Berkshire Hathaway, the firm of billionaire Warren Buffett, suffered losses of $ 49.746 billion in the first quarter of the year, with its investments hit hard by the crash that the coronavirus pandemic has caused in the markets.
(Read: Despite the isolation, the billionaires have continued to enrich themselves)
The figures released this Saturday contrast with the net profit of $ 21,661 million that the company based in Omaha (Nebraska) had registered in the same period of the previous year.
Berkshire Hathaway’s accounts have been especially volatile since 2018 due to an accounting standard that came into force at that time and that requires the change in the value of shares held by it, which given the enormous portfolio of the Buffett fund causes large movements in function of the direction of the markets.
The famous investor, who is very critical of these accounting rules, always points to operating profit as a more reliable way of seeing the progress of his company.
In the first quarter, Berkshire Hathaway had an operating profit of $ 5,871 million, above the 5,555 million recorded in the same period of 2019.
Known for knowing how to take advantage of moments of crisis to get hold of new ones
In business, at the moment not much is known about Buffett’s movements during the coronavirus pandemic, which has hit almost all sectors hard, including many of the large companies in which he has large investments.
This Saturday, Berkshire Hathaway holds its annual meeting, in which Buffett – known as the “Omaha oracle” for his accurate predictions – is expected to offer his vision on the current situation.
The event, which has gained fame in recent years until being dubbed the “Woodstock of the capitalists” and which brings together thousands of investors in a stadium to listen to Buffett, will be a very different year this year given the pandemic.
This time, Buffett and one of its top executives will be the only ones present in Omaha and from there will answer questions from shareholders that will be previously chosen by a group of journalists.
EFE
