Berkshire reports first quarterly loss in 8 yrs

Berkshire Hathaway has slumped into a quarterly loss,for the first time in nearly eight years.

Revered investor Warren Buffett-led Berkshire Hathaway has slumped into a quarterly loss,for the first time in nearly eight years.

Rocked by losses from derivatives and certain investments,Berkshire has reported a loss of USD 1.53 billion in the first three months of 2009.

The firm had clocked a profit of USD 940 million in the comparable period.

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The company has recorded a loss for the first time since 2001 when the September 11 terror attacks in the country took a toll on its insurance business in the third quarter.

The firm also saw its first-quarter revenues decline by nine per cent to USD 20.25 billion. The same stood at USD 22.27 billion in the corresponding period a year ago.

According to the company,investment losses from other-than-temporary impairments for the first quarter,predominantly relate to Berkshire’s investment in energy major ConocoPhillips common stock.

In the first quarter,Berkshire sold about 13.7 million shares of ConocoPhillips. The market price of the stock had declined sharply in 2008.

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“Losses from the high yield credit default contracts for the first quarter of 2009 were approximately USD 1.3 billion,which reflected several defaults and the widening of credit default spreads with respect to the underlying non-investment grade issuers,” the company statement said.