Behind Berkshire Hathaway’s battle to raise profits
Insurance business’s falling results have hurt figures, with an underwriting loss of $22m from a gain of $337m a year earlier
Seattle — Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway is finding it hard to grind out higher profits, in large part because of slumping results at its insurance businesses. Gains at the conglomerate’s railroad and energy units were not enough to overcome an underwriting loss during the second quarter, the company said on Friday. Operating profit slid for the third consecutive period. Buffett is still sitting on a mountain of cash. At the end of the quarter, his company had almost $100bn. The record balance prompted the billionaire to say earlier in 2017 that he had not put his "foot to the floor" on an acquisition for a long time. It fuelled speculation that he might buy something that’s big even by his standards. Mortgages, energy In the meantime, Buffett has been finding other places to invest. Berkshire bought a stake in a real estate investment trust and agreed in June to prop up Home Capital Group, an embattled Canadian mortgage lender. In early July, the energy arm of his conglomerate...
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