Berkshire Hathaway operating earnings for the third quarter and first nine months of 2010 increased 35.6 percent and 45.9 percent from the comparable periods in 2009.
BNSF was the major contributor adding $1.59 billion to net earnings since the company’s acquisition on Feb. 12, including $706 million during the third quarter. Its acquisition increased the company’s shares outstanding by 6.1 percent. Another major reason for the improvement occurred at NetJets with a swing from a pre-tax loss of $531 million in the first nine months of 2009 to a pre-tax profit of $158 million in 2010.
At Sept. 30, 2010, Berkshire Hathaway’s book value had increased by 7.5 percent to $90,823 per Class A equivalent share. Insurance float, the net liabilities we assume under insurance contracts, at Sept. 30 was $66 billion and includes float related to our life annuity business that was previously part of our finance and financial products segment.
