Berkshire Hathaway third-quarter earnings up -- Reuters
NEW YORK, Nov. 12 (Reuters) - Diversified investment company
Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRKa - news) said on Thursday its
third-quarter net earnings, excluding realized investment gains,
rose 6 percent, bolstered by the contribution of its auto
insurance subsidiary GEICO Corp.
The company, the investment vehicle of Omaha billionaire Warren
Buffett, said its income from operations rose to $264 million, or
$212 per share, from $248 million, or $201 per share, a year ago.
Including the gains in both years, the company, which announced
in June it would buy insurer General Re Corp. (NYSE:GRN - news)
in a deal valued at $22 billion, said its third-quarter net
income fell to $365 million, or $293 per share, from $367
million, or $297 per share, in 1997.
First Call Corp., which provides analysts consensus estimates,
does not track Berkshire Hathaway, a spokesman said.
Berkshire Hathaway said GEICO, its largest operation and the
seventh-largest U.S. auto insurer, was an ''important
contributor'' to its improved 1998 operating results with its 10
percent profit margin above target.
The company said the unit's growth continued to accelerate in all
categories of auto insurance. The company also said GEICO took
premium rate reductions in certain states and that future margins
should be more in line with expectations.
Berkshire Hathaway said the General Re acquisition is expected to
close in the fourth quarter pending certain rulings from the
Internal Revenue Service. |
