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Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc posted a higher operating profit on Saturday, but the coronavirus pandemic hit its equity investments and caused a record net loss.
FILE PHOTO: Warren Buffett, CEO of Berkshire Hathaway Inc, pauses while playing bridge as part of the company’s annual meeting weekend in Omaha, Nebraska, USA. USA May 6, 2018. REUTERS / Rick Wilking / File Photo
REUTERS: Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc posted a higher operating profit on Saturday, but the coronavirus pandemic hit its investments in common stock and led to a record net loss.
Berkshire’s first-quarter net loss totaled $ 49.75 billion, or $ 30,653 per Class A share, reflecting $ 54.52 billion of investment losses, primarily common stock. A year earlier, net earnings totaled $ 21.66 billion, or $ 13,209 per share.
Quarterly operating profit, which Buffett considers a better performance measure, increased 6 percent to $ 5.87 billion from $ 5.56 billion.
An accounting rule requires Berkshire to report profit and loss on unrealized stock with profit. This causes major changes in Berkshire’s net results that Buffett considers to be pointless.
(Report by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Edited by Edmund Blair)
