NetJets Reports a Profitable First Quarter

A new Berkshire Hathaway report to shareholders offers details about a financial turnaround at its recently struggling NetJets subsidiary. According to the report, the fractional provider's revenues were 18 percent higher in the first quarter of 2010 than in the same period in 2009. Berkshire attributed this result mostly "to a 7 percent increase in worldwide flight revenue hours and higher fuel cost surcharges, partially offset by lower management fees due to fewer aircraft in the NetJets program." The company had pre-tax earnings of $57 million in the first quarter of 2010 compared with a pre-tax loss of $96 million in the first three months of last year. NetJets still owns a larger fleet than it requires and plans to keep selling off "selected aircraft," according to Berkshire, but NetJets' operating costs have "been reduced to better match customer demand.