OMAHA, the United States, May 2 (Xinhua) -- Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. on Saturday reported a net loss of nearly 50 billion U.S. dollars in the first quarter amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The net lost totaled 49.75 billion dollars in the first quarter, or 30,653 dollars per Class A share and 20.44 dollars per Class B share, compared with a net earning of 21.66 billion dollars a year ago, Berkshire said in a news release.
The first-quarter operating earnings rose to 5.87 billion dollars from 5.55 billion dollars, it added.
"As efforts to contain the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated in the second half of March and continued through April, most of our businesses were negatively affected, with the effects to date ranging from relatively minor to severe," the release said.
Berkshire has taken "necessary" actions to mitigate the economic losses due to lower "consumer demand for products and services," it said, adding that the company could not "reliably predict" when its many businesses would return to normal or when consumers would resume their former buying habits.
Berkshire, a U.S. multinational conglomerate holding company, based in Omaha, Nebraska, was founded by legendary investor Buffett.
