Berkshire Hathaway Swings To Loss In Q1

(RTTNews) - Billionaire Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK.A, BRK.B) reported a loss in the first quarter hurt by the impact of an accounting rule change on unrealized investment losses and lower insurance premiums.

Net loss attributable to shareholders for the quarter was $1.14 billion, compared to a profit of $4.06 billion last year.

Net loss per Class A equivalent share attributable to shareholders $692 versus a profit of $2,469 last year.

Warren Buffett has warned about the "nightmare" tied to new accounting-rule changes. The rules, which require Berkshire to report unrealized gains or losses in equity investments in net income, helped fuel a $1.14 billion loss in the first quarter, the company said.

But, operating earnings for the quarter rose to $5.29 billion from $3.56 billion in the previous year.

Total revenues were $58.47 billion, down from $64.37 billion last year due to a drop in insurance premiums earned. Insurance premiums earned declined to $13.373 billion from the prior year's $21.753 billion.