Berkshire’s Earnings Up 93% for Quarter

Berkshire Hathaway Inc., the company controlled by billionaire investor Warren Buffett, said its third-quarter operating earnings rose 93% to $301 million, or $197 a share, with help from smaller insurance losses. The results beat the estimate of $162 a share, according to a survey by IBES International. The operating results exclude investment gains of $496 million in the latest quarter and $264 million in the year-earlier period. Berkshire, which owns the reinsurer General & Cologne Re Corp. and the car insurer Geico Corp., said insurance industry trends were “modestly more favorable” in the third quarter than a year ago but not yet satisfactory. Berkshire Class A shares closed unchanged at $62,200 on the New York Stock Exchange, before the Omaha, Neb.-based company released its results.