Berkshire Hathaway Profit Up 64% on Geico

Berkshire Hathaway Inc. said first-quarter earnings jumped 64%, buoyed by higher revenue from its Geico Corp. insurance unit. Its shareholder equity, which includes the value of Berkshire Hathaway’s investments in other companies, grew 29% last year to $24.2 billion. Berkshire, a holding company controlled by billionaire investor Warren Buffett, said profit from operations climbed to $263.1 million, or $214 a share, from $160.2 million, or $134, a year earlier. In the most recent quarter, a $21.3-million gain from investment sales made the Omaha-based company’s net income $284.4 million, or $231 a share. So far this year, Berkshire Hathaway’s Class A stock is up 17%. Shares were unchanged at $39,000 on the New York Stock Exchange. . . . Federated Department Stores Inc., parent of Bloomingdale’s and Macy’s, reported first-quarter earnings of $24.1 million, or 12 cents a share, contrasted with a loss of $37.9 million, or 18 cents, in the year-ago period . . . Englewood, Colo.-based Tele-Communications Inc., the nation’s largest cable operator, reported a net loss of $58 million, or 12 cents per share, compared with a loss of $121 million, or 22 cents, in the year-ago period.