In the announcement during its shareholders meeting held at Omaha, Nebraska last Friday, Warren Buffett said that quarterly profit rose nearly 51% on solid performance of its investments in insurance and other businesses, together with revenues from derivatives. These results were higher than expected returns and were released after Berkshire shares closed at its highest.
There are more than 80 businesses in the Berkshire portfolio and revenues are increasing from an improving economy. A few examples are the increased traffic with its Burlington Northern railroad, increasing customer base for the McLane food distribution business and increased demand for its recreational vehicles from Forest River.
The profit from insurance operations doubled because of the growth of its Geico car insurance unit and insurance for protection against major disasters.
Net income increased to US$4.89 billion with the price of each Class A share is US$2,977 from 2012's US$3.25 billion or just US$1,966 per share.
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