Buffett's Berkshire Says Profit Up 40 Pct NEW YORK (Reuters) - Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRKa.N: Quote , Profile , Research ) (BRKb.N: Quote , Profile , Research ) , the holding company run by billionaire Warren Buffett, said on Saturday that quarterly profit surged 40 percent, helped by more than $2.3 billion of investment gains as Buffett bet the U.S. dollar would fall. For the year, profit fell 10 percent as earned insurance premiums declined. Fourth-quarter net income for the Omaha, Nebraska-based company rose to $3.34 billion, or $2,172 per Class A share, from $2.39 billion, or $1,553 per share, a year earlier. Revenue increased 1 percent to $20 billion. Quarterly results reflect the difference between reported full-year results and reported results for the first nine months of 2004. The per-share figures are high because Berkshire has few shares outstanding. Berkshire ended the year with $43.4 billion of cash, up 21 percent from a year earlier. In his annual letter to shareholders, Buffett said Berkshire increased its stake in foreign currency contracts to $21.4 billion from $20 billion at the end of September. The position is in 12 currencies that Buffett did not name. Buffett has wagered against the U.S. dollar since 2002 amid concern about rising U.S. trade and budget deficits. Last year the trade deficit rose 24 percent to a record $617.7 billion, while the budget shortfall was a record $412.3 billion. "The evidence grows that our trade policies will put unremitting pressure on the dollar for many years to come," Buffett said in his annual letter to Berkshire shareholders. "As W.C. Fields once said when asked for a handout: 'Sorry, son, all my money's tied up in currency."' As of Dec. 31, the greenback bought 8.3 percent fewer euros and 6.9 percent fewer Japanese yen than it did on Sept. 30. Compared with the end of 2002, the dollar bought 22.6 percent fewer euros and 13.7 percent fewer yen. Buffett said that if the United States promptly adopts policies to cut the budget deficit, Berkshire might suffer losses on its currency contracts. But he said Berkshire remains heavily concentrated in dollar-based assets and would benefit from a strong dollar and low inflation. For the year, profit fell 10 percent to $7.31 billion, or $4,753 per Class A share, from $8.15 billion, or $5,309 per share, a year earlier. Revenue increased 16 percent to $74.4 billion. The 74-year-old Buffett, the world's second richest person according to Forbes magazine, is known as the "Oracle of Omaha" after Berkshire's hometown. Quelle "Buffett's Berkshire Says Profit Up 40 Pct" : reuters.com Main page for "Buffett's Berkshire Says Profit Up 40 Pct"