Produced by: Hisham Mugane
Berkshire Hathaway’s operating profit for the fourth quarter of 2022 fell 8% from the same period last year as inflationary pressures weighed on the investment giant’s business.
The group’s total operating profit, which includes profits from a large number of companies it owns, was $6.7 billion in the last quarter of last year, up from $7.28 billion a year earlier.
For the year, Berkshire’s total operating profit rose 12.2% to $30.79 billion, up from $27.45 billion in 2021.
Berkshire’s rail, utilities and energy businesses posted profits of $2.2 billion in the same period, down slightly from the same period in 2021. At the same time, the company’s insurance business fell to $244 million in the fourth quarter of 2022. 372. million in the same period of the previous year.
– Buyback of shares
Meanwhile, the Omaha-based group spent $2.85 billion on stock buybacks in the fourth quarter. That’s lower than total withdrawals of more than $6 billion in the same period last year, but it’s higher than total withdrawals in the third quarter of about $1.05 billion.
For the full year, Berkshire spent about $8 billion on buybacks of common stock.
– A pile of money
Berkshire’s cash pile grew to $128.65 billion in the fourth quarter of 2022, despite a decline in operating profit. It was about $109 billion in the third quarter.
In his annual letter to shareholders, the group’s billionaire CEO Warren Buffett said Berkshire would continue to hold its inventory and U.S. Treasuries, along with countless other companies. Their net worth in Berkshire shares.
A tumultuous year
And in a tumultuous year in which Berkshire’s investments in stocks were volatile, the company’s net profit fell to $18.16 billion in the fourth quarter, down 54% from the same period a year earlier.
Berkshire posted a full-year net loss of $22.81 billion last year, compared with a profit of $89.79 billion in 2021, as the company reported a $53.6 billion loss on investments and derivatives.
Berkshire shares are reported to be down 1.6% in 2023.
