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Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – Warren Buffett’s investment company, Berkshire Hathaway Inc., posted a record net loss of nearly $ 50 billion due to the Covid-19 pandemic that hit the U.S. stock market. The loss value is almost equivalent to Rp.775 trillion, assuming an exchange rate of Rp.15,500 / US $.
Net loss in the first quarter of 2020 reached $ 49.75 billion (Rp. 771 billion), or $ 30,653 per share (Rp. 475 million) Class A. This reflects $ 54.52 billion of investment losses, mainly investment in ordinary shares. .
A year earlier, Berkshire’s net earnings, which are listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) or Wall Street, reached $ 21.66 billion, or $ 13,209 per share.
Buffett’s operating earnings this quarter were seen as better performance during the pandemic, or up to 6% at $ 5.87 billion (Rp. 91 trillion) or $ 3,624 per Class A share than before. for a value of US $ 5.56 billion or US $ 3,388 per share.
The S&P 500 Index on US Wall Street fell 20% in the first quarter. This causes Berkshire’s portfolio in several large companies to decrease significantly, some of which are American Express, Bank of America, Wells Fargo and four airlines, American, Delta, Southwest and United.
Reporting from CNBC International, the Berkshire business that focuses on investing in large companies is also affected by the crown, like many other American companies. The Covid-19 pandemic reduced the volume of the BNSF railway and forced retail companies like See’s Candies to temporarily close.
Berkshire Management said most Berkshire companies were losing money due to the pandemic, with impacts ranging from levels that were still considered “relatively small to severe”, and business income deemed “significant” also declined in April.
Vice president Charlie Munger told The Wall Street Journal that some of Berkshire’s small businesses may shut down entirely.
Accounting standards in the US USA Require Berkshire to report gains and losses on unrealized shares (unrealized) to be included in the benefit calculation. This caused a big change in Berkshire’s net profit that Buffett thought was actually meaningless.
Still, despite the loss, Berkshire remains strong with a huge amount of cash because so far for the past 4 years it has not been used for acquisitions. Berkshire’s cash reached US $ 137.3 billion in cash or Rp 2,128 billion equivalent.
(bag / bag)
