Berkshire Q3 profit down 8.6% on Tesco fall

New York

WARREN Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc said that third-quarter profit slipped 8.6 per cent on investment results, including an impairment on a holding of UK retailer Tesco plc.

Net income fell to US$4.62 billion, or US$2,811 a share, from US$5.05 billion, or US$3,074, a year earlier, the Omaha, Nebraska-based company said last Friday in a statement. Operating earnings, which exclude some investment results, were US$2,876 a share, beating the US$2,593 average estimate of three analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.