Month: March 2021

Categories
Minority Stock Positions Stock Portfolio

Berkshire Hathaway-Backed BYD Receives Bus Order From DB Regio Bus

(BRK.A), (BRK.B)

BYD, the world’s leading electric bus manufacturer, has secured its first order from DB Regio Bus, the national bus transport division of one of Germany’s largest transport operators, Deutsche Bahn.

The order is for BYD’s latest generation 12-meter eBus model, equipped with a host of new technical innovations.

In a significant move, BYD and Deutsche Bahn have together signed a framework agreement paving the way for further BYD eBus orders in 2021.

Initially, a total of five pure-electric, emissions-free 12-meter BYD eBuses will enter service with DB Regio Bus later this year in Ettlingen, in the federal state of Baden-Württemburg. It is the second delivery of BYD electric buses in Germany after 22 vehicles were handed over in October 2020 to Public Transport Operators (PTOs) in Gelsenkirchen and Bochum.

Despite restrictions still in place following the coronavirus pandemic, BYD continues to meet its build and delivery schedules for Local Authority and PTO customers right across Europe.

The order from DB Regio Bus is also the first for BYD’s latest generation 12-meter, low-floor eBus model.

Launched at Busworld in 2019, the new, enhanced model features a host of upgrades including an all-new air-conditioning system, a ‘6-in-1’ controller which integrates the vehicle’s principle electronic components, a larger capacity 422 kWh battery capacity, and BYD’s FleetLink vehicle monitoring system to provide PTO’s with a highly effective fleet management tool. From an interior and exterior design perspective, BYD’s iF award-winning ‘Home from Home’ concept combines a dynamic visual aesthetic with high levels of safety and comfort to deliver a complete sense of well-being for passengers.

“This important order is indicative of the confidence that Deutsche Bahn places in our best-selling, and latest generation, 12-metre product,” said BYD Europe Managing Director, Isbrand Ho, “which has also been rubberstamped by the framework agreement for the supply of eBuses later this year. Moreover, the order from such a high profile Public Transport Operator is acceptance of the BYD marque generally in the German bus market. We are a supplier of total eMobility solutions,” he said, “and our ability to form strong partnerships with Local Authorities and PTOs will mean, I believe, that we’ll see more and more BYD eBuses in towns and cities throughout Germany.”

BYD and Berkshire Hathaway

In 2008, Berkshire Hathaway bet on BYD’s potential, purchasing 225 million shares for $232 million. It’s an investment that has paid off handsomely. Berkshire’s original investment of $232 million had grown in value to $5.897 billion as of December 31, 2020.

© 2021 David Mazor

Disclosure: David Mazor is a freelance writer focusing on Berkshire Hathaway. The author is long in Berkshire Hathaway and BYD, and this article is not a recommendation on whether to buy or sell a stock. The information contained in this article should not be construed as personalized or individualized investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

Categories
TTI

Marki Microwave Signs Distribution Agreement with Berkshire Hathaway’s RFMW

(BRK.A), (BRK.B)

RFMW, a wholly owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway’s TTI Inc., has signed a global distribution agreement with Marki Microwave. Marki Microwave supplies the RF and microwave industry with a portfolio of high performance components including broadband, low conversion loss, and highly linear mixers, high directivity, low return loss couplers and directional bridges, well balanced power dividers and hybrid couplers, and many other products.

“We are thrilled to add Marki Microwave to our portfolio of industry leading RF manufacturers,” says Joel Levine, president of RFMW. “Marki’s innovative and expansive portfolio of products is a huge value add to RFMW’s existing RF, microwave, and mmWave product offerings. As an additional benefit, the company is committed to all-American assembly. We look forward to supporting the company’s growth trajectory while diversifying our product offerings to better address customer needs for the future.”

“Entering into this distribution agreement is a critical growth inflection point for our company because it will allow us to support new territories and expansion channels,” says Duncan Pilgrim, vice president of sales and marketing at Marki Microwave. “RFMW’s vast global distribution network and exceptional engineering support services will undoubtedly bring new opportunities to Marki as we expand our global footprint in the radio frequency and microwave markets.”

RFMW is a specialty electronics distribution company focused exclusively on serving customers that require RF and microwave components and semiconductors, as well as component engineering support.

© 2021 David Mazor

Disclosure: David Mazor is a freelance writer focusing on Berkshire Hathaway. The author is long in Berkshire Hathaway and BYD, and this article is not a recommendation on whether to buy or sell a stock. The information contained in this article should not be construed as personalized or individualized investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

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Lessons From Warren Buffett

Lessons From Warren Buffett: Business Schools Have Taught a Lot of Nonsense About Investing

When it comes to teaching investing, Warren Buffett is less than impressed with what business schools teach on the subject.

For Buffett, it is all about knowing how to value a business, and the more esoteric the financial theory, the more it seems to drift from the basic task of determining valuations.

“I think they’ve taught to students a lot of nonsense about investments,” Warren Buffett said at the 2012 Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting. “I mean, it is astounding to me how the schools have focused on sort of one fad after another in finance theory, and it’s usually been very mathematically based.”

Hear Buffett’s full explanation

See the complete Lessons From Warren Buffett series

© 2021 David Mazor

Disclosure: David Mazor is a freelance writer focusing on Berkshire Hathaway. The author is long in Berkshire Hathaway, and this article is not a recommendation on whether to buy or sell the stock. The information contained in this article should not be construed as personalized or individualized investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

Categories
Commentary NetJets

Commentary: NetJets Makes High Speed Move Into Supersonic Jets

(BRK.A), (BRK.B)

Competition in the fractional jet ownership business is getting fiercer, as the biggest players, Berkshire Hathaway’s NetJets, and its main competitor Flexjet, prepare to spend billions on the return of supersonic flight for the business jet market.

Supersonic flight will give these companies a substantial competitive advantage over commercial airlines in their competition for first class customers, especially for long distance overseas flights.

The new supersonic business jets will fall into an interesting category of jets that will have a decided advantage over other private jets, but will be too expensive for most people to own outright.

While the supersonic business jet market offers opportunity, it also comes at a high cost, with the price of each jet at over $100 million.

That’s the perfect opening for fractional ownership companies to plot their growth.

In 2015, Flexjet became the first fractional jet ownership company to place a firm order for the jets, when they ordered twenty of Aerion’s AS2 aircraft.

Now, Aerion has made an expansive collaboration with NetJets and FlightSafety International, two Berkshire Hathaway companies, which will be sure to impact the private jet market.

Underlining the long-term focus of the partnership, NetJets has also obtained purchase rights for 20 AS2 supersonic business jets.

Aerion will start production at Aerion Park in Melbourne, Florida in 2023.

With significant growth achieved through 2020 and 2021, Aerion’s global order backlog for the AS2 is now valued at more than USD $10 billion. The new AS2—the first supersonic aircraft to enter commercial service in 51 years and the world’s first supersonic business aircraft— continues to advance toward manufacturing start after concluding wind tunnel validation late last year.

“As the leader in private aviation, we constantly look for ways to be on the cutting-edge, and expanding our fleet to become the exclusive business jet operator for Aerion Connect is a thrilling next step,” said Adam Johnson, Chairman and CEO of NetJets Inc. “Together, we will be exploring the integration of the AS2 supersonic business jet into NetJets’ global network, and we are honored to be their chosen partner to enable the Aerion Connect vision.”

Aerion will explore NetJets’ becoming the exclusive business jet operator for the global mobility platform, Aerion Connect. A vision for a future global mobility ecosystem, Aerion Connect will integrate multiple, currently siloed urban and regional networks and provide a seamless point-to-point travel experience, optimized for speed and luxury across multiple modes of transportation.

In collaboration with FlightSafety International, the premier professional aviation training company, Aerion will also develop a supersonic flight training academy for civil, commercial, and military supersonic aircraft. The Aerion-branded facility will channel FSI’s comprehensive global training expertise to provide a center of excellence for supersonic flight training and education, shaping the flight crews of the future.

The supersonic planes will give corporate leaders and other high-end travelers a compelling reason to consider fractional ownership. Even cross-country travel, which draws additional concerns about sonic booms, will be faster.

Aerion claims that its Boomless Cruise flight is feasible at speeds up to Mach 1.2, depending on atmospheric conditions, principally temperature and wind.

The company hopes that the U.S. will adopt International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) standards, permitting supersonic speeds over the U.S. Supersonic flights are currently prohibited.

Aerion claims that at speeds around Mach 1.2 a “sonic boom would, essentially, dissipate before reaching the ground.”

The Aerion AS2

The Aerion AS2 is a three-engine jet and is larger than the originally conceived Aerion supersonic business jet. Fuselage length is 160 feet and maximum takeoff weight is 115,000 pounds. Minimum projected range is 4,750 nautical miles with the intention to achieve a range of more than 5,000 nautical miles.

The aircraft will have a 30-foot cabin in a two-lounge layout plus galley and both forward and aft lavatories, plus a baggage compartment that is accessible in-flight. Cabin dimensions widen from entryway to the aft seating area where height is six feet, two inches and cabin width is seven feet, three inches.

Carrying eight to 12 passengers, the AS2 has an intercontinental-capable range of 4,750 nautical miles at supersonic speed.

One thing that is clear, only the strongest of the fractional ownership companies will be able to compete in this market, giving them a clear advantage over smaller charter companies, and a major capability advantage over commercial airlines.

© 2021 David Mazor

Categories
Minority Stock Positions Stock Portfolio

BYD Tests Autonomous Driving Bus at Haneda Airport in Japan

(BRK.A), (BRK.B)

Berkshire Hathaway-backed BYD Co. has debuted its first autonomous driving bus.

The bus is being tested in actual scenarios for All Nippon Airways at the Haneda Airport in Japan, and the airport becomes the country’s first international airport to conduct a pilot operation for an autonomous bus.

The test uses BYD’s K9 bus, which can carry up to 57 people.

During this trial operation, the airport staff will do near to Level 3 autonomous driving tests on the bus in a specific area of the airport to collect essential data to help the developers better improve the autonomous driving functions and improve the vehicle’s operating efficiency in the future.

Jointly carried out by BYD, ANA, BOLDLY, and Advanced Smart Mobility, the project has been conducted three rounds of tests from 2018 to 2020.

ANA plans to put the bus into trial operation in 2021 and implement the autonomous driving bus into a daily operation to fully achieve its goal to build a “Simple & Smart” airport by 2025.

“BYD is very honored to join hands with ANA to carry out this comprehensive autonomous driving test trial at the Haneda Airport,” Liu Xueliang, General Manager of BYD Asia-Pacific Auto Sales Division, said. “I firmly believe that this four-party cooperation will set an excellent example for a smart and environmentally friendly airport of Japan to give people a smarter, safer, and cleaner travel experience in the future.”

“At ANA, we are constantly looking for ways to harness the latest technology to enhance operations and efficiency,” said Masaki Yokai, Senior Vice President of ANA. “In addition to marking a significant step forward for airports, fully electric autonomous buses will result in fewer emissions and decreased carbon footprints at airports. We are optimistic that these trials will give us the information we need to continue improving these technologies and will allow ANA to maintain its leadership in autonomous innovation.”

BYD and Berkshire Hathaway

In 2008, Berkshire Hathaway bet on BYD’s potential, purchasing 225 million shares for $232 million. It’s an investment that has paid off handsomely. Berkshire’s original investment of $232 million has grown in value to $5.897 billion as of December 31, 2020.

© 2021 David Mazor

Disclosure: David Mazor is a freelance writer focusing on Berkshire Hathaway. The author is long in Berkshire Hathaway and BYD, and this article is not a recommendation on whether to buy or sell a stock. The information contained in this article should not be construed as personalized or individualized investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

Categories
Clayton Homes

Clayton Homes to Build 350 Site-Built Homes in Pfafftown, North Carolina

(BRK.A), (BRK.B)

Berkshire Hathaway’s Clayton Homes will build 300 to 350 site-built homes on a former estate in Pfafftown, North Carolina.

The 184-acre former estate of Eldridge “Redge” and Jane Hanes was sold to Clayton Homes for $4.5 million and will be developed by Clayton’s Mungo Homes division, and marketed under the Shugart Homes brand.

Mungo Homes was acquired by Clayton Homes in 2018, and Shugart Homes was acquired by Clayton in 2019.

The manor house will be demolished, however, a guest/boat house that sits at the 22-acre lake on the property will be refurbished.

Berkshire’s Clayton Homes, which is the largest producer of manufactured homes, has been moving aggressively into the site-built market, and is already among the top-ten site-builders in the U.S.

Clayton Homes has acquired ten site-built companies since it first started adding site-builders in 2016.

Acquired by Berkshire Hathaway in 2003 for $1.7 billion, Clayton Homes has grown into a diverse builder offering traditional site-built homes, modular homes, manufactured homes, tiny homes, college dormitories, military barracks and apartments.

Read a Special Report on how Kevin Clayton has transformed Clayton Homes.

© 2021 David Mazor

Disclosure: David Mazor is a freelance writer focusing on Berkshire Hathaway. The author is long in Berkshire Hathaway, and this article is not a recommendation on whether to buy or sell the stock. The information contained in this article should not be construed as personalized or individualized investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

Categories
Acquisitions Pilot Flying J

Berkshire’s Pilot Company Innovates With “Welcome to Pilot”

(BRK.A), (BRK.B)

In 2017, Berkshire Hathaway took a 38.6% stake in the largest operator of truck stops and rest stops in North America, Pilot Company. The company has 750 locations under the Pilot and Flying J brands.

Berkshire is purchasing its equity position from the Haslam family, the company’s founders, and is progressing towards a majority ownership of Pilot by 2024.

Jimmy Haslam, the son of the company’s founder Haslam, will remain in charge when the acquisition is completed.

In acquiring companies, Berkshire is always looking for dedicated management that will bring the same passion and drive to a company even after they no longer own a majority interest. That certainly is happening at Pilot, as the company looks to innovate the customer experience in a rapidly changing marketplace with its “Welcome to Pilot” initiative.

Recently, key marketing personnel at Pilot detailed how they are evolving Pilot’s stores with an emphasis on cashless and contactless transactions, and the overall enhancement of the customer experience.

You can hear all about Pilot’s prototype stores and innovations in “How Pilot is Changing Its Store Experience” on the At Your Convenience podcast that brings you the inside scoop on the convenience store business.

© 2021 David Mazor

Disclosure: David Mazor is a freelance writer focusing on Berkshire Hathaway. The author is long in Berkshire Hathaway, and this article is not a recommendation on whether to buy or sell the stock. The information contained in this article should not be construed as personalized or individualized investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.