Profits at Warren Buffett's firm reach USD 36 billion as stocks surge and its insurance holdings perform well

Omaha (US): Profits rebounded at Warren Buffett’s conglomerate along with the value of its USD 353 billion stock portfolio in the second quarter to hit USD 35.9 billion, and Berkshire Hathaway’s assorted businesses also performed well, led by strong results in its core insurance businesses, particularly Geico.

Berkshire Hathaway said on Saturday that its profits surged to hit USD 24,755 per Class A share.

A year ago, the Omaha, Nebraska-based company recorded a loss of USD 43.6 billion, or USD 29,633 per Class A share, when the value of its biggest investments fell.

But Buffett has long said that those bottom-line figures can be misleading because of the big swings in the paper value of its investments from quarter to quarter when few of Berkshire’s investments are actually bought or sold. Instead, Buffett recommends that investors focus on operating earnings to see how the more than 90 companies Berkshire owns are actually performing.

By that measure, Berkshire’s operating earnings grew 6.6 per cent, to USD 10.043 billion, or USD 6,928.40 per Class A share. That’s up from USD 9.417 billion, or USD 6,403.61 per Class A share, a year ago.

The three analysts surveyed by FactSet Research expected Berkshire to report operating earnings of USD 5,575.67 per Class A share.

Berkshire’s revenue jumped to USD 92.5 billion from last year’s USD 76.2 billion thanks largely to the addition of truck stop operator Pilot Travel Centres, which generated USD 14.75 billion in revenue during the quarter.

Berkshire is still sitting on a mountain of cash because it hasn’t completed any major acquisitions or made many significant new stock investments this year. The company’s cash pile grew to USD 147.4 billion from the first quarter’s USD 130.6 billion. (AP)