In Berkshire Hathaway’s 2002 annual report, Warren Buffet said:
In my view, derivatives are financial weapons of mass destruction, carrying dangers that, while now latent, are potentially lethal.
Today, May 3, 2008 in the AP this headline ran:
Unrealized derivative losses send Berkshire’s 1Q profit 64 percent lower
With this article:
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Berkshire Hathaway Inc. said Friday its first-quarter profit fell 64 percent because it recorded an unrealized $1.6 billion pretax loss on its derivative contracts, and its insurance businesses generated lower profits. Berkshire reported net income of $940 million, or $607 per share, in the quarter ended March 31. That’s down significantly from the net income of $2.6 billion Berkshire generated a year ago. Berkshire’s chairman and CEO Warren Buffett warned shareholders in his annual letter that the derivatives could make the company’s earnings volatile. But he predicted the derivatives will ultimately be profitable. The four analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial expected earnings per share of $1,476.99 on average. Including the derivative losses, Berkshire’s net investment losses in the quarter totaled $991 million. A year ago, the Omaha-based company recorded a $382 million investment gain. Berkshire’s derivatives fit into two major categories. Berkshire will have to pay on some of the contracts if certain U.S. entities default on their credit. Most of the other derivatives will only be paid if the certain stock indices are lower in 15 or 20 years than they were when the contract was written. Berkshire has received $2.9 billion in premiums on the credit-default derivatives and $4.9 billion on the stock index derivatives. Berkshire said its operating earnings are a better measure of how the company is performing in any given period because those figures exclude derivatives and investment gains or losses. Berkshire reported $1.93 billion in operating earnings during the first quarter, which was down from $2.21 billion in operating earnings a year earlier.
Keep that buy and hold long only legend up WB!
