Thanks to the strong insurer
Buffett is happy about record earnings
08/05/2023, 6:50 p.m
Just a year ago, star investor Warren Buffet’s investment company posted a loss of $44 billion. This year, the insurance business brought the 92-year-old a net profit of almost $36 billion.
A recovery in the insurance business has given star investor Warren Buffett’s holding company Berkshire Hathaway a record profit. According to its own statements, the company conglomerate posted its highest quarterly profit to date from April to June. Operating profit increased by seven percent to a good ten billion dollars within a year, as announced by Berkshire Hathaway in Omaha, Nebraska.
The auto insurer Geico, the group’s longtime problem child, has now written its second quarterly profit before taxes in a row with 514 million dollars. Geico was able to push through higher premiums, had to pay for fewer accidents and also reduced its advertising expenditure.
Berkshire Hathaway’s insurers also benefited from rising interest rates in their investments. The group more than made up for a decline in profits at its freight railway BNSF. BNSF received fewer freight orders and engaged in price wars with truck hauliers.
As almost always, the group’s net income deviated significantly from the operating result, mainly because it reflects the current stock market value of Berkshire Hathaway’s share portfolio. Unrealized gains have now pushed the surplus to almost $36 billion, after a loss of almost $44 billion in the same period last year.
Berkshire Hathaway owns shares in Apple and Coca-Cola, among others. Buffett always advises investors to focus on the results of his group’s operating business. According to Forbes magazine, the 92-year-old investor is the sixth richest person in the world with assets of more than $117 billion. Because of his investment decisions and the broad positioning of his group in many industries, he and Berkshire Hathaway are given special attention. The share price is also unusual for the company. The papers currently cost around $ 533,000 – each.