May 9 (Bloomberg) — Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. posted its worst loss in at least two decades as the billionaire chairman worked to recover from a “major mistake” of buying ConocoPhillips shares with oil prices near their peak.
The first-quarter net loss of $1.53 billion, or $990 a share, compares with profit of $940 million, or $607, in the same period a year earlier, the Omaha, Nebraska-based firm said yesterday in a statement. Writedowns on derivatives tied to corporate-debt indexes cost the company about $1.3 billion and Berkshire took a $1.9 billion charge on oil producer ConocoPhillips, contributing to its first net loss since 2001.
Read moreWarren Buffett’s Berkshire Reports First Loss Since 2001