Buffett's Berkshire says quarterly profit rises 15 percent

[February 25, 2017]  (Reuters) - Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc <BRKa.N> on Saturday said fourth-quarter profit rose 15 percent from a year earlier, helped by gains from investments and derivatives.

Warren Buffett, chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, smiles before speaking with Bill Gates (not pictured), at Columbia University in New York, U.S., January 27, 2017. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton

Net income rose to $6.29 billion, or $3,823 per Class Ashare, from $5.48 billion, or $3,333 per share, in the comparable quarter the previous year.

Quarterly operating profit fell 6 percent to $4.38billion, or $2,665 per share, from $4.67 billion, or $2,843 pershare.

Analysts on average had forecast operating profit of $2,716.60 per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Book value per share, which reflects assets minus liabilities and which Buffett considers a good yardstick for Berkshire's intrinsic worth, was $172,108 at the end of the year, up 5 percent from three months earlier.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by David Gregorio)

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