Berkshire says first-quarter profit up 51 percent over ’12

Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. said first-quarter profit rose 51 percent on gains from investments and insurance operations.

Net income climbed to $4.89 billion, or $2,977 a share, from $3.25 billion, or $1,966, a year earlier, the Omaha, Neb.-based company said Friday in a statement. Operating profit, which excludes some investment results, was $2,302 a share, beating the $1,996 estimate of three analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.

Berkshire is benefiting as gains in the housing market help the U.S. economy rebound from the biggest slump since the Great Depression in the 1930s. As chairman and chief executive officer for more than four decades, Buffett transformed his company through takeovers from a textile maker into a firm that hauls freight, generates electricity, sells insurance and manufactures building supplies such as bricks and paint.

Class A shares have risen 22 percent this year to $162,904 in New York, beating the 13 percent gain in the Standard & Poor’s 500.

Business, Pages 28 on 05/04/2013

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