Categories
Insurance

Berkshire Hathaway Travel Protection Innovates With New Products

(BRK.A), (BRK.B)

Berkshire Hathaway Travel Protection (BHTP), a leading provider of innovative travel insurance, has launched a new lineup of travel insurance products for the U.S. market.

Known for its market-leading innovation in U.S. travel insurance, BHTP is launching more comprehensive coverage than before with the debut of ExactCare® Value™ and ExactCare® Extra™, and enhancements to its existing ExactCare® product.

“BHTP is launching a good, better and different suite of plans in the U.S. market,” said Dean Sivley, president of Berkshire Hathaway Travel Protection. “Our top-tier offering is ‘different’ in that it not only provides the highest coverage limits from BHTP, it also integrates our innovative fixed benefits, making it the broadest travel insurance option in the U.S.”

ExactCare® Extra™: BHTP is the first travel insurance company to launch a revolutionary concept that combines the innovative and immediate fixed-benefit payments featured in its existing AirCare® product with traditional coverage, giving travelers the broadest travel and simplest protection possible.

ExactCare® Value™: Full-featured product offering savvy travelers what they want most from travel insurance.

ExactCare®: BHTP’s most popular product is now more hassle-free – particularly for families, with the addition of family-friendly pricing.

“Travel agents now have something different to offer their clients – something that includes what we’re calling ‘no receipts needed’ fixed benefits for several coverages in BHTP’s new ExactCare Extra® plan,” Sivley added. “Following the 2014 debut of AirCare® – the world’s first flight-protection product to feature claims that are automatically filed and paid as flight or baggage mishaps happen – BHTP has now combined these popular fixed benefits for travel disruption and baggage with traditional, comprehensive travel insurance.”

As travelers enter the busy and often weather-disrupted summer travel season, the new and enhanced ExactCare products will not only make quick travel assistance more accessible for any travel problem or disruption, but now travelers can receive “as it happens” claims payments for covered flight cancellations, tarmac delays or delayed and lost baggage.

Designed to dramatically reduce or eliminate claim filing and processing, all new BHTP ExactCare products include expedited claims reimbursement via BHTP Burst® – including direct e-payments to a PayPal account, or payment via debit card into a specified account. Plus, the new, innovative ExactCare Extra plan includes real-time flight tracking, the popular high-tech feature that was first introduced in 2014 with BHTP’s AirCare product.

All BHTP insureds have access to on-demand attention and responses through MyAssist, and BHTP’s 24/7/365 global concierge service.

© 2017 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 Lubrizol Warren Buffett

Warren Buffett Wishes For Five More Lubrizols

(BRK.A), (BRK.B)

If there is any one of Berkshire Hathaway’s companies that Warren Buffett would love to find another of it would have to be Lubrizol Corporation.

Berkshire acquired the specialty chemical manufacturer in 2011 for $9.7 billion, and it has played an important role in Berkshire’s profits.

“Lubrizol is the second largest in terms of earnings so it’s a very important asset to Berkshire,” Buffett noted during a recent visit to Lubrizol’s headquarters in Wickliffe, Ohio. “Up until the acquisition of Precision Cast Parts [it was] the largest industrial operation we have.”

Lubrizol’s growth, which since being acquired by Berkshire has included the acquisition of Particle Science, the opening of a chlorinated polyvinyl chloride (CPVC) compounding plant in Dahej, India, and assuming the Indian government’s stake in Lubrizol India Pvt Ltd., and more.

“It’s a terrific business and it’s big, and only gets bigger,” Buffet said.

With Berkshire size matters, as small acquisitions don’t make much difference in the profits of a company the size that Berkshire has grown to. Over the past decade, Berkshire has added not only Lubrizol, but also BNSF Railway, Precision Castparts, battery-maker Duracell, and a hefty chunk of Kraft Heinz to its portfolio.

While individual Berkshire companies can grow through smaller acquisitions in the millions, tens of millions, or even hundreds of millions, those size acquisitions don’t make sense for Berkshire if they are stand-alone entities. Berkshire has to add companies with billions in market cap in order to make a difference.

Companies of Lubrizol’s size are in the range that Buffett looks for with his famed “elephant gun.”

“It’s a huge advantage to be large too in terms of moving the needle on $400 billion of market cap.” Buffett noted, referring to Berkshire’s overall size.

Buffett’s a willing buyer, but companies such as Lubrizol are not on every corner.

“I wish we had five more and they’re hard, they are very hard to find,” Buffet said. “They take decades and decades to build.”

Buffett’s reputation as a long term owner of companies who keeps key management in place is one the things that makes becoming a Berkshire company attractive. The other is no longer having to be a slave to quarterly earnings reports. Just ask the folks at BNSF Railway how much easier it is to allocate capital now that they have been freed of that burden.

“We want Berkshire to be a wonderful collection of businesses over time, because we’re not going to sell them. It isn’t like we are going to keep culling the herd.”

If you can find Buffett another Lubrizol he’s certainly ready to thank you.

“Find me another Lubrizol, I’ll send flowers to your wife on her birthday,” Buffett adds. And he means it.

© 2017 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
IMC

ISCAR to Benefit from Robust Growth in Boring Tools Market

(BRK.A), (BRK.B)

ISCAR, the largest of the 15 companies comprising Berkshire Hathaway’s IMC (International Metalworking Companies) will benefit from a projected robust market for boring tools over the next five years.

IMC’s companies produce a wide range of carbide inserts, carbide endmills and cutting tools, covering most metal cutting applications.

In a new TechNavio report, “Global Boring Tools Market 2017-2021,” Technavio’s analysts forecast the global boring tools market to grow at a CAGR of 7.27% during the period 2017-2021.

The report notes that a key driver of the demand for boring tools is the demand for fabricated metal in the automotive sector.

The report notes that “the major growth in the boring tools will be seen in key APAC countries such as China and India. South Korea and other emerging economies are growing at a higher rate when compared with the matured markets in the Americas and EMEA.”

The total metal cutting tools market, which includes boring tools, was valued at $36.04 billion in 2016.

© 2017 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
BNSF

BNSF Continues Layoffs Due to Soft Coal and Oil Demand

(BRK.A), (BRK.B)

BNSF Railway continues to trim its workforce, which continues a process that was particularly heavy in 2016.

In 2016, BNSF furloughed about 4,600 workers.

The most recent to face layoffs were 55 workers at the Glendive diesel shop in Glendive, Montana. The layoffs are classified as permanent, and the shop will continue to employ roughly 60 workers.

A spokesman for BNSF cited lower demand for coal and oil shipments as the reason for the layoffs.

System-wide, BNSF’s 2016 carloads were down significantly from 2015 levels. There were a total of 480,000 fewer unit trains than in the prior year.

Things have been looking up in 2017, with total carloads including intermodal up a robust 7.25% system-wide. However, the freight hauler has been working actively on making itself more efficient, which enables it to do the same work with fewer employees.

© 2017 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
Nebraska Furniture Mart

Grandscape to Add 100-Acre Lifestyle Center

(BRK.A), (BRK.B)

Grandscape, Berkshire Hathaway’s giant mixed-use real estate development in The Colony, Texas, has broken ground on 1.5 million square feet of residential and office space that is billed as the lifestyle center for the development.

The lifestyle center will feature a luxury high-rise apartment tower that will also have retail and office space.

Located in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, Grandscape is being developed by Berkshire’s Nebraska Furniture Mart, and is home to its 1.86 million square foot store, which opened in 2015.

Berkshire is on a ten-year-plan to fill out the Grandscape property, with anchor retail and entertainment all on a Texas-sized scale.

In January, Galaxy Theatres agreed to build and operate an 85,000+ sf, 16-screen movie venue in the lifestyle center. The opening is scheduled for 2019.

Another anchor retailer that is already signed is Scheels All Sports, which is certainly familiar with the mega-sized nature of Grandscape.

Scheels currently operates the “World’s Largest All Sports Store,” which is located in Reno/Sparks, Nevada. No word yet whether the Grandscape store will eclipse it.

© 2017 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
Dairy Queen

Dairy Queen Goes Inter-Galactic with Guardians of the Galaxy 2 Movie Tie-In

(BRK.A), (BRK.B)

The Dairy Queen® brand is teaming up with Marvel Studios’ highly anticipated movie release, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, to launch the Guardians Awesome Mix Blizzard Treat and #MissionMixtape, a Fan journey to claim an exclusive mixtape.

The promotion then has fans search the galaxy for a cassette player to hear their celestial reward.

“The Marvel collaboration allows us to bring our Fan Food philosophy to life in our new summer blockbuster Guardians Awesome Mix Blizzard treat,” says Barry Westrum, executive vice president of Marketing for American Dairy Queen Corporation (ADQ). “In the movie, the Guardians are stronger as a team. Likewise, we teamed up with Marvel to create a Fan favorite summer Blizzard treat flavor, mixing brownie and cookie pieces to create ‘Brookie’ pieces and combining them with caramel, choco chunks and DQ vanilla soft-serve.”

Starting April 26 at 12 p.m. CDT, Fans can claim one of 1,000 Mission Mixtapes at MissionMixtape.com. Once claimed, Fans must search the galaxy for a cassette player to play the tape and get a special code for prizes ranging from limited edition, cast-signed Marvel Studios’ Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 movie posters to DQ gift cards. Each cassette tape also includes original, unofficial ‘bonus’ tracks. Fans can share their missions or follow along with #MissionMixtape.

Additionally, customers can upgrade the small sundae in the $5 Buck Lunch meal to a small Blizzard treat for an additional $1.

Dairy Queen also has a TV commercial tie-in.

The promotion is only the second time that Dairy Queen has done a movie tie-in in the past twenty years. In 2015, Dairy Queen tied-in with Jurassic World, which went on to be the biggest film of the summer and the second highest grossing film of the year.

At the time, Dairy Queen’s CEO, John Gainor, noted that he was delighted to see how the branding tie-in boosted sales across the board, and especially for their Blizzard dessert that came in a Jurassic World-themed cup.

Hopefully, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 will have a similar effect.

For more information on Dairy Queen’s world-wide plans, read a Mazor’sEdge special report on Dairy Queen.

© 2017 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
Dairy Queen

2016 Was the Year Dairy Queen Was Chillin

(BRK.A), (BRK.B)

Berkshire Hathaway’s Dairy Queen, the venerable food and frozen treat purveyor, rolled out more of its DQ Grill & Chill franchises in 2016 than in any year prior.

Dairy Queen opened 318 locations worldwide, including 82 new stores in the United States.

Phoenix, upstate New York, Southern California, and South Carolina are all areas where Dairy Queen has major expansion plans, and internationally, South Korea plans to open 50 DQ Grill & Chill locations within the next five years.

The South Korea agreement is with the privately held M2G USA Investment, Inc., whose diversified business portfolio includes ownership of restaurants, hotels, public storage businesses, household appliance manufacturing, shoes and an extensive global real estate portfolio.

“The DQ® brand continues to expand in new international markets,” said John Gainor, President and CEO of International Dairy Queen, Inc., said at the time of the announcement. “We are looking forward to working with M2G USA Investment to bring our renowned menu, signature treats and quality service to the Republic of Korea.”

Closer to the U.S., Dairy Queen’s plans call for the development of DQ Grill & Chill locations in Trinidad and Tobago, DQ Grill & Chill and DQ Treat locations in Jamaica, and DQ Treat locations in St. Lucia, Grenada and St. Maarten.

The DQ system has more than 6,700 locations with more than 2,200 of those units operating outside of the United States.

For more information on Dairy Queen’s world-wide plans, read a Mazor’sEdge special report on Dairy Queen.

© 2017 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 Berkshire Hathaway Energy Commentary

Commentary: Did the KCC Open the Door for Berkshire to Make a Bid for Westar Energy?

(BRK.A), (BRK.B)

On April 19, the Kansas Corporation Commission torpedoed the planned acquisition of Westar Energy by Great Plains Energy.

Westar is the largest electric utility in Kansas and the combined companies would have served approximately 950,000 Kansas customers.

The KCC rejected the merger as bad for consumers, and noted what they called an excessive purchase price, requiring GPE to take on significant debt. They noted that the $4.9 billion acquisition premium exceeded GPE’s $4.8 billion market capitalization by $100 million.

With the merger dead, the big question is whether it opens the door for Berkshire Hathaway Energy to make another run at Westar Energy. BHE was in the running the last time around.

Westar Energy is a Natural Fit for Berkshire

With a market cap of roughly $7 billion, Westar is in the same price range as NV Energy, which Berkshire acquired in December 2013 for $5.6 billion.

In addition to just adding to Berkshire’s energy assets, the acquisition makes sense geographically. BHE has already partnered with Westar on Prairie Wind Transmission, LLC, a 108-mile, 345-kilovolt high-capacity electrical transmission line in south-central Kansas that was completed in 2014.

If BHE proves to be interested, it may face competing bids from Ameren Corporation, as well as an investor consortium that includes Borealis Infrastructure Management Inc. and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board.

Both Ameren and the CPPIB were interested in Westar before the Great Plains merger was signed, and they may again return to the bidding.

Like BHE, Ameren’s service area in neighboring Missouri also fits well with Westar, which provides power for approximately 687,000 customers in much of east and east-central Kansas.

Unlike Great Plains Energy, BHE’s financial strength may enable it to overcome the KCC’s concerns, and add another valuable energy asset to Berkshire’s portfolio.

© 2017 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
BH Media

BH Media Job Cuts Less Than First Reported

(BRK.A), (BRK.B)

The newspaper business continues to slide and Berkshire’s BH Media Group, which owns 31 daily newspapers,47 paid weekly newspapers and 32 print and on-line products. , has trimmed its workforce by 289 positions across its publications.

While the number most have reports have focused is 289, the number is actually far less, as 108 are vacant positions that will not be filled.

“While more readers than ever turn to our digital products, our digital revenue is not growing fast enough yet to offset print revenue losses from both advertising and circulation,” Terry Kroeger, president and chief executive of BH Media, wrote in a memo to employees.

Kroeger emphasised the cuts were need to preserve profitability.

“It is imperative that we take this action. Otherwise some of our operations will become unprofitable. And, like it or not, profitable news organizations are necessary to practice exceptional journalism.”

The company will also reduce the number of pages it will print in some publications.

BH Media cites slumping regional advertising, as one of the sources of its problems.

Just last week, HHGregg, a regional retailer of consumer electronics and home appliances with a strong presence in the Midwest, went belly up, and as retailers shutter brick and mortar stores, newspapers lose one of their major sources of display advertising.

© 2017 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
Fruit of the Loom

Fruit of the Loom Chooses New PR Agency

(BRK.A), (BRK.B)

Fruit of the Loom has selected Cohen & Wolfe as its new North America public relations agency. The 160-year-old underwear manufacturer switched from Ketchum.

Cohen & Wolfe has previously done branding for Barclays, ExxonMobil, GlaxoSmithKline, Hennessy, Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group, Mattel, Panasonic and Smucker’s. The company is a subsidiary of WPP, the world’s largest communications services group.

“We were impressed with the Cohn & Wolfe team and their spot-on consumer insights, uniquely creative ideas and enthusiasm for our brand,” Bryse Yonts, manager of brand communications for Fruit of the Loom, said.

© 2017 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.