(Reuters) - Berkshire Hathaway Inc, the conglomerate run by billionaire Warren Buffett, on Friday said its third-quarter profit rose as strength in the railroad and utility businesses, as well as investment gains, offset weaker results in the insurance units.

Berkshire earned $3.92 billion, or $2,373 per Class A share, compared with $2.28 billion, or $1,380 per share, a year earlier. Book value, Buffett's preferred measure of the company's worth, rose to $111,718 per Class A share, up 11.9 percent since year end.

The ice-cream-to-insurance conglomerate, which employs more than a quarter-million people worldwide, reported its cash pile grew to $47.78 billion, up $10 billion from the start of the year.

Buffett told CNBC last week that he was “salivating” for a major acquisition after two deals of more than $20 billion each fell through in the last few months.

Want to continue reading?
Become a Free PropertyCasualty360 Digital Reader

  • All PropertyCasualty360.com news coverage, best practices, and in-depth analysis.
  • Educational webcasts, resources from industry leaders, and informative newsletters.
  • Other award-winning websites including BenefitsPRO.com and ThinkAdvisor.com.
NOT FOR REPRINT

© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.