Warren Buffett's letter touts spending at Fort Worth's Burlington Northern Santa Fe

Posted Friday, Mar. 01, 2013 0 comments  Print Reprints
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While Warren Buffett mocks executives who held back investments because of "uncertainty" in the economy, he put his money where his mouth is with a $4 billion capital spending plan at Fort Worth-based Burlington Northern Santa Fe in 2013.

According to the famed investor's popular letter to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders, released Friday with its earnings, it is "more than any railroad has spent in a single year."

"We will keep our foot to the floor and will almost certainly set still another record for capital expenditures in 2013," Buffett wrote.

Buffett, Berkshire's CEO for more than four decades, said the company spent $9.8 billion last year on plant and equipment, up 19 percent from 2011 and including $3.55 billion just at BNSF.

The company said its fourth-quarter earnings jumped 49 percent on gains tied to derivatives wagers made by Buffett. Net income rose to $4.55 billion, or $2,757 a share, from $3.05 billion, or $1,846 a share.

Staff writer Jim Fuquay contributed to this report, which includes material from Bloomberg News.

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