【文章內(nèi)容簡(jiǎn)介】 ortant factor in determining whether there are any real rewards from your investment in Berkshire Hathaway. 我們?nèi)詫⒊掷m(xù)努力地妥善管理企業(yè)內(nèi)部事務(wù)，但大家必須了解外界環(huán)境，如貨幣情勢(shì) 的變化卻是決定各位在 Berkshire 投資回報(bào)的最後關(guān)鍵因素。 Sources of Earnings 盈餘報(bào)告 We again present a table showing the sources of Berkshire’s earnings. As explained last year, Berkshire owns about 60% of Blue Chip Stamps which, in turn, owns 80% of Wesco Financial Corporation. The table shows both aggregate earnings of the various business entities, as well as Berkshire’s share. All of the significant capital gains or losses attributable to any of the business entities are aggregated in the realized securities gain figure at the bottom of the table, and are not included in operating earnings. 下表係 Berkshire 盈餘的報(bào)告，去年我們?cè)蚋魑徽f明過， Berkshire持有藍(lán)籌郵票 60%的股權(quán)，後者又持有 80%的 Wesco金融公司，表中顯示各個(gè)事業(yè)體的盈餘合計(jì) 數(shù)，以及 Berkshire 依持股比例可分得的部份，各事業(yè)體的資本利得或損失則不包含 在營(yíng)業(yè)利益項(xiàng)下，而是加總列在已實(shí)現(xiàn)資本利得項(xiàng)下。 Net Earnings Earnings Before Ine Taxes After Tax Total Berkshire Share Berkshire Share (in thousands of dollars) 1979 1978 1979 1978 1979 1978 Total all entities ......... $68,632 $66,180 $56,427 $54,350 $42,817 $39,242 ===== ===== ====== ====== ====== ====== Earnings from Operations: Insurance Group: Underwriting ............ $ 3,742 $ 3,001 $ 3,741 $ 3,000 $ 2,214 $ 1,560 Net Investment Ine ..24,224 19,705 24,216 19,691 20,106 16,400 BerkshireWaumbec textiles 1,723 2,916 1,723 2,916 848 1,342 Associated Retail Stores, Inc. ........... 2,775 2,757 2,775 2,757 1,280 1,176 See’s Candies ............. 12,785 12,482 7,598 7,013 3,448 3,049 Buffalo Evening News ...... (4,617) (2,913) (2,744) (1,637) (1,333) (738) Blue Chip Stamps Parent 2,397 2,133 1,425 1,198 1,624 1,382 Illinois National Bank and Trust Company .......... 5,747 4,822 5,614 4,710 5,027 4,262 Wesco Financial Corporation Parent ... 2,413 1,771 1,098 777 937 665 Mutual Savings and Loan Association ............ 10,447 10,556 4,751 4,638 3,261 3,042 Precision Steel ........... 3,254 1,480 723 Interest on Debt .......... (8,248) (5,566) (5,860) (4,546) (2,900) (2,349) Other ..................... 1,342 720 996 438 753 261 Total Earnings from Operations .......... $57,984 $52,384 $46,813 $40,955 $35,988 $30,052 Realized Securities Gain 10,648 13,796 9,614 13,395 6,829 9,190 Total Earnings ......... $68,632 $66,180 $56,427 $54,350 $42,817 $39,242 ===== ====== ====== ====== ====== ====== Blue Chip and Wesco are public panies with reporting requirements of their own. On pages 3743 of this report, we have reproduced the narrative reports of the principal executives of both panies, in which they describe 1979 operations. Some of the numbers they mention in their reports are not precisely identical to those in the above table because of accounting and tax plexities. (The Yanomamo Indians employ only three numbers: one, two, and more than two. Maybe their time will e.) However, the mentary in those reports should be helpful to you in understanding the underlying economic characteristics and future prospects of the important businesses that they manage. 藍(lán)籌郵票及 Wesco都是公開發(fā)行公司，各自都必須對(duì)外公開報(bào)告，在年報(bào)的後段附有 這兩家公司主要經(jīng)理人關(guān)於公司 1979 年現(xiàn)況的書面報(bào)告，他們運(yùn)用的部份數(shù)字可能 無法與我們所報(bào)告的絲毫不差，但這又是因?yàn)闀?huì)計(jì)與稅務(wù)一些細(xì)節(jié)規(guī)定所致， (Yanomamo 印地安人只會(huì)用三個(gè)數(shù)字：一、二、大於二 )，不過我認(rèn)為他們的見解 將有助於各位了解這些旗下重要事業(yè)的經(jīng)營(yíng)現(xiàn)況，以及未來發(fā)展的前景。 A copy of the full annual report of either pany will be mailed to any shareholder of Berkshire upon request to Mr. Robert H. Bird for Blue Chip Stamps, 5801 South Eastern Avenue, Los Angeles, California 90040, or to Mrs. Bette Deckard for Wesco Financial Corporation, 315 East Colorado Boulevard, Pasadena, California 91109. 若有需要 Berkshire 的股東可向 Mr. Robert(地址：加州洛杉磯 5801 South Eastern Avenue)索取藍(lán)籌郵票的年報(bào)或向 Mrs. Bette(地址：加州 Pasadena 315 East Colorado Boulevard)索取 Wesco的年報(bào)。 Textiles and Retailing 紡織業(yè)及零售業(yè) The relative significance of these two areas has diminished somewhat over the years as our insurance business has grown dramatically in size and earnings. Ben Rosner, at Associated Retail Stores, continues to pull rabbits out of the hat big rabbits from a small hat. Year after year, he produces very large earnings relative to capital employed realized in cash and not in increased receivables and inventories as in many other retail businesses in a segment of the market with little growth and unexciting demographics. Ben is now 76 and, like our other “upanders”, Gene Abegg, 82, at Illinois National and Louis Vincenti, 74, at Wesco, regularly achieves more each year. 隨著保險(xiǎn)事業(yè)規(guī)模與盈餘快速的成長(zhǎng)，紡織業(yè)與零售業(yè)佔(zhàn)整體事業(yè)的重要性日益下 滑，然而儘管如此，聯(lián)合零售商店的 Ben Rosner 還是不斷地化腐朽為神奇，即使產(chǎn) 業(yè)面臨停滯不前的窘境，卻能利用有限的資本創(chuàng)造出可觀的盈餘，且大多是現(xiàn)金而非 儘是增加一些應(yīng)收款或存貨。 Ben 現(xiàn)年 76 歲，就像是其他後進(jìn)者，伊利諾國(guó)家銀行 82 歲 的 Gene Abegg、 Wesco 74 歲的 Louis Vincenti 一樣，其功力日益深厚。 Our textile business also continues to produce some cash, but at a low rate pared to capital employed. This is not a reflection on the managers, but rather on the industry in which they operate. In some businesses a work TV station, for example it is virtually impossible to avoid earning extraordinary returns on tangible capital employed in the business. And assets in such businesses sell at equally extraordinary prices, one thousand cents or more on the dollar, a valuation reflecting the splendid, almost unavoidable, economic results obtainable. Despite a fancy price tag, the “easy” business may be the better route to go. 雖然我們的紡織事業(yè)仍持續(xù)不斷地有現(xiàn)金流入，但與過去所投入的資金實(shí)在是不成正 比，這並非經(jīng)理人的過錯(cuò)，主要是產(chǎn)業(yè)的環(huán)境使然，在某些產(chǎn)業(yè)，比如說地方電視臺(tái)， 只要少數(shù)的有形