NetJets 3Q Results a Drag on Berkshire Hathaway

By: Matt Thurber

November 12, 2009
Special Features

Revenues at NetJets, Berkshire Hathaway’s fractional jet share company, dropped $471 million (41 percent) in the third quarter of 2009 and $1.495 billion (42 percent) for the first nine months of 2009, compared with 2008 results, according to the parent company’s November 6 quarterly report. The decline in revenues stems from a 79-percent drop in aircraft sales, according to the report, and a 24-percent reduction in flight revenue hours.

For the first nine months of this year, pre-tax losses for NetJets were $531 million, with $183 million of that in the third quarter. These pre-tax losses included downsizing and asset-writedown costs of $181 million during the third quarter and $436 million for the first nine months of the year.

According to the report, “NetJets owns more airplanes than are required for its present level of operations and further downsizing will be incurred in the fourth quarter. However, management believes that NetJets is likely to operate at a modest profit in 2010, absent any further deterioration in the U.S. economy or negative actions directed at the ownership of private aircraft.”

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