Berkshire’s Net Up 62%

Warren E. Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. said second-quarter profit rose 62% on investment gains and higher interest income from its insurance units.

Net income climbed to $2.35 billion, or $1,522 a share, from $1.45 billion, or $941, a year earlier, the Omaha-based company said.

Profit excluding the investment gains was $2.1 billion, or $1,332 a share, higher than the $1,077 estimated by Charles Gates, an analyst at Credit Suisse Group in New York.

Berkshire, which relies on insurance for about half the company’s profit, benefited from higher U.S. interest rates after putting policyholders’ premiums in short-term investments.

Buffett, the company’s billionaire chairman, also virtually eliminated his foreign currency investments, lowering his forward contracts by $4.2 billion during the quarter to $1.2 billion even as the dollar weakened against major currencies.

Last year, with as much as $21.8 billion in forward contracts, Berkshire recorded $955 million in losses as the dollar strengthened.