The Oracle of Omaha can't forecast...

[Coyote]

...Hurricanes!

Hurricanes Cut Into Berkshire Earnings

OMAHA, Neb. - Billionaire Warren Buffett's investment holding company Berkshire Hathaway Inc., reported a 37 percent decline in third quarter income Friday, citing a $816 million after-tax loss from hurricanes in the United States and the Caribbean.

Berkshire Hathaway earned $1.13 billion in the three months ending Sept. 30, compared to $1.8 billion in the same period last year. That is a drop to $739 per Class A share, compared with $1,176 per share for the same period a year ago.

Investment gains in the third quarter increased to $518 million, a 14.3 percent increase from $453 million a year ago.

Despite losses from the hurricanes, the company maintained that its insurance operations were performing well. Income from insurance still dropped, however, to $484 million from $519 million a year ago.

The company's Class A shares closed Friday at $83,390, down $510 on the New York Stock Exchange.

Berkshire's net earnings for the first half of the year dropped to $3.97 billion or $2,581 per share from $5.77 billion, or $3,755 for the same period last year.

Last quarter, Berkshire posted a 43 percent drop in income from the same period a year before when it had recorded large investment gains.

The company had $38.1 billion cash equivalents on hand in the 21-month period ending September 30, an increase from $10.3 billion in December of 2002. That does not count the money held by Berkshire's finance and financial products operations.

Berkshire owns businesses and stock in a wide variety of industries, including insurance, furniture, restaurants, candy and newspapers.