亚洲地震震动伯克希尔盈利

    上周六伯克希尔(Berkshire)在年度股东大会上宣布，该公司一季度净利润从上年同期的36亿美元降至15亿美元。首席执行官沃伦•巴菲特称，由于公司为日本和新西兰地震、澳大利亚水灾以及美国飓风灾害后可能涌现的索赔请求计提理赔资金，其主要的保险业务税前亏损17亿美元。

    巴菲特表示，这些亏损导致伯克希尔保险子公司利润大降近90%，九年来首次出现承保损失。他估计亚洲巨灾将令全球再保险行业（即为保险公司提供保险的行业）付出约500亿美元代价。

    如果看巴菲特推崇的季度数据——营运利润（即不包括投资损益和衍生品交易品种的价值变化），那么伯克希尔的利润较上年下降27%至16亿美元。

    巴菲特称，伯克希尔大多数业务当季继续向好，特别是公司去年购入的伯灵顿北方铁路公司（Burlington Northern）。该公司利润飙升80%至9.08亿美元。

    但伯克希尔的住宅相关业务依然困难，保险亏损吞噬了铁路和所有其他子公司的盈利增加。

    在奥马哈的奎斯特中心（Qwest Center），巴菲特告诉股东在简要讨论业绩后，他将谈谈要事，即最近大卫•索科尔的辞职。

    Berkshire's (BRKA) net profit dropped to $1.5 billion from $3.6 billion a year ago, the company said Saturday at its annual shareholder meeting. CEO Warren Buffett said Berkshire took $1.7 billion in pretax losses in its big insurance business, as the company reserved for probable claims on quakes in Japan and New Zealand, the Australian floods and a big cyclone.

    The losses dragged profits at Berkshire's insurance unit down almost 90% and put the company on track for its first underwriting loss in nine years, Buffett said. He estimated that the Asian catastrophes will cost the global reinsurance industry – the business of insuring insurers – some $50 billion.

    Using Buffett's preferred method of looking at quarterly numbers – the operating earnings that exclude investment gains and losses and changes in the value of derivatives trades – Berkshire's profits fell 27% from a year ago, to $1.6 billion.

    Buffett said most of Berkshire's businesses continued to improve in the quarter, notably the Burlington Northern railroad that the company purchased last year. Profits there surged 80%, to $908 million.

    But the company's residential housing related businesses continue to struggle and the insurance losses swamped the gains at the railroad and at its other units.

    Buffett told shareholders at the Qwest Center in Omaha that after a brief discussion of the earnings he will turn to the main event, a discussion of the recent resignation of David Sokol.