Eaton fourth quarter profit down 36% ( Part of Warren Buffett Portfolio)

Due to the global economic recession, which led to a drop in demand for products, the fourth-quarter profit of Eaton ( Part of Warren Buffett Holdings) fell 36 percent from the same period last year of 256 million U.S. dollars, or 1.71 U.S. dollars per share, fell to 163 million U.S. dollars, or 98 cents per share.

Quarter revenue growth of 3.3 percent from a year earlier to 3.37 billion U.S. dollars of the 3.49 billion U.S. dollars.

Last week, the company announced that as part of its cost-cutting part of the plan, to lay off 5,200 people. Eaton last year the number of its global workforce during peak periods from about 8 million people laid off about 10%.

As per Sep 08 shareholding pattern of Eaton Corp, Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway is holding 2,908,700 shares.

Eaton Lowers Revenue Guidance (Part of Warren Buffett Portfolio)

Eaton (Part of Warren Buffett Holdings) Lowers Revenue Guidance and Provides Mixed Earnings Guidance. Eaton Corp. (ETN) expects first quarter results of approximately breakeven with revenue below $3.49 billion and expects 2009 earnings of $4.20 to $5.20 per share on revenue of approximately $14.15 billion. The current consensus estimate is earnings of $0.94 per share on revenue of $3.58 billion for the quarter ending March 31, 2009 and earnings of $4.73 per share on revenue $14.53 billion for the year ending December 31, 2009.

As per Sep 08 shareholding Pattern of Eaton, Warren Buffet's Berkshire Hathaway is holding 2,908,700 shares.

American Express Q4 Profit tumbles 72% ( Part of Warren Buffett Portfolio)

American Express Company (Part of Warren Buffett Holdings) today reported fourth-quarter income from continuing operations of $238 million. It is down 72 percent from $858 million a year ago. Diluted earnings per share from continuing operations were $0.21, down 71 percent from $0.73 a year ago.

Net income for the quarter is $172 million, which is down 79 percent from a year ago.

Consolidated total revenues net of interest expense declined 11 percent to $6.5 billion, down from $7.3 billion a year ago.

Consolidated provisions are$1.4 billion compared to $1.5 billion in the year-ago period.

Consolidated expenses are 5 % up to $4.9 billion as compared to $4.7 billion a year ago.

The company's return on average equity (ROE) was 21.7 percent, down from approc 37 percent a year ago. The company continued to invest in the business, announcing a multiyear partnership with Delta Airlines this quarter and also expanded their global network business. In addition, successfully integrated the corporate card business that they purchased from General Electric.

As per Sep 08 shareholding Pattern of American Express, Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway is holding 151,610,700 shares.

Wesco Financial is a Divident Champion (Part of Warren Buffett Portfolio)

Wesco Financial Corporation (Part of Warren Buffett Holdings) board has approved a 2% increase in its quarterly dividends from $0.385 to $0.395 per common share. Wesco Financial Corporation has consistently increased its dividends for 37 years. The stock currently yields 0.50%. Wesco Financial Corporation engages in insurance, furniture rental, and steel service center businesses.

As per Sep 08 shareholding pattern of Wesco Financial Corporation, Waren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway is holding 5,703,087 shares.

U.S. Bancorp Q4 profit fell 65% ( Part of warren Buffett Portfolio)

U.S. Bancorp's ( Part of warren Buffett Holdings) profit fell 65 percent in the fourth quarter of 2008 compared to the same period a year earlier, primarily due to higher provisions for credit losses.

US Bancorp reported net income of $330 million, or 15 cents per share, in fourth quarter 2008, compared to $942 million or 53 cents per share in the fourth quarter of 2007.

US Bancorp recorded $253 million in securities losses in the fourth quarter of 2008. U.S. Bancorp increased the provision for credit losses in the recent quarter by $1.04 billion compared to the prior year’s quarter, to nearly $1.27 billion, reflecting continued stress in the residential real estate market, the company said.

Fourth-quarter revenue grew 1.4 percent to $3.6 billion on 22.6 percent higher net interest income while noninterest income decreased 19.2 percent as the slowing economy hit equity valuations and customer behavior, the company said.

For the full year 2008, U.S. Bancorp saw its net income fall 31.9 percent to $2.9 billion, on net revenue that rose 4.4 percent to $14.7 billion.

U.S. Bancorp has $266 billion in assets and operates 2,791 banking offices in 24 states.

As per Sep 08 shareholding pattern of US Bancorp, Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway is holding 2,627,190 shares.

Nike Coming Out With Adjustable Drivers April 1 ( Part of Warren Buffett Portfolio )

Nike Golf ( Part of Warren Buffett Holdings) is coming out with two new drivers with adjustable clubheads for 2009 on April 1.

The SQ DYMO STR8-FIT and SQ DYMO2 STR8-FIT drivers feature eight different positions for the clubhead. The DYMO2 is the square-headed model.

Nike calls it straight-fit (STR8-FIT) technology. It can adjusted for players who slice or hook the ball off the tee, for example.

Nike said Trevor Immelman, K.J. Choi and Anthony Kim won tournaments in 2008 using the technology, with Immelman winning the Masters with it.

The clubs come with a torque wrench to change positions. When the head position is locked into place, a sound indicator and light on the wrench goes off.

The MSRP? $540.

As per Sep 08 shareholding pattern of Nike, Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway is holding 7,641,000 shares.

NRG Energy's Preliminary FY08 Adj. EBITDA Below Guidance ( Part of Warren Buffett Portfolio)

Thursday, NRG Energy, Inc. ( Part of Warren Buffett Holdings) reported preliminary fiscal 2008 adjusted EBITDA lower than prior guidance. The company also reiterated previously issued 2009 adjusted EBITDA guidance while increasing full year 2009 cash from operations view.

The Princeton, New Jersey-based power generation company now expects fiscal 2008 adjusted EBITDA of $2.29 billion compared to its prior guidance of $2.4 billion. The decline was attributed to the impact of incorrectly increasing guidance for the non-cash effects of energy option revenues.

The transportation service provider anticipates reporting fiscal 2008 cash from operations of $1.43 billion or $1.85 billion excluding collateral changes compared to its prior guidance of $1.5 billion. The company noted that preliminary cash from operations, excluding the effects of cash collateral, was $151 million higher than previously issued guidance due to a combination of lower cash tax payments along with cash provided by changes in working capital.

NRG expects to end the year with $3.36 billion in total liquidity compared to $2.72 billion in the similar period last year. The liquidity excludes cash collateral posted by hedge counterparties. The company stated that continued strong operating cash flows and a reduction in letters of credit outstanding, primarily the result of lower commodity prices and hedge counterparties migrating from NRG's second lien collateral structure to the first lien structure, contributed to higher cash balances and greater LC capacity.

That the Company succeeded in surmounting the extraordinary challenges of 2008 to achieve the best financial results in NRG's history in terms of both adjusted EBITDA and, particularly, cash from operations before collateral movements, is a testament to the professionalism of NRG's dedicated employees.

Looking forward, NRG reiterated previously provided 2009 adjusted EBITDA guidance of $2.2 billion. However, the company increased cash from operations guidance for 2009 by $200 million, from $1.3 billion to $1.5 billion, as cash taxes are anticipated to be significantly lower due to accelerated utilization of tax loss carry forwards generated in prior years.Clint Freeland, NRG Chief Financial Officer is of the view that the company was able to protect its portfolio and stability of cash flows through risk management and hedging activities when energy related commodities are experiencing significant and rapid market price declines.

The company noted that it remains on course to deliver 2009 adjusted EBITDA goal and would be able to increase 2009 cash flow guidance by $200 million through effective tax planning.NRG closed Thursday's regular trading at $22.40, down $0.26 or 1.15% on a volume of 1.7 million shares on the NYSE.

As per Sep 08 shareholding Pattern of NRG, Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway is holding 5,000,000 shares