Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway posts record operating profit

Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc posted a record quarterly profit on Saturday, bolstered by a significant increase in income from insurance underwriting.

Berkshire said net income fell 64 per cent, reflecting much lower unrealized gains from its common stock holdings as the share price of Apple declined. It also repurchased 9.5 billion dirham ($2.6 billion) of its own stock.

First-quarter operating profit rose 39 per cent to 41.2 billion dirham ($11.22 billion) from 29 billion dirham $8.07 billion a year earlier.

Net income fell to 46 billion dirham ($12.7 billion) from 130 billion dirham ($35.5 billion). An accounting rule requires Berkshire to report unrealised gains and losses with net results, and Buffett urges investors to ignore the resulting volatility.

The results were released ahead of Berkshire's annual shareholder meeting in Omaha, part of a weekend that draws tens of thousands of people to the city.