这场经典的赛事，甚至还用慢动作播放精彩的第四节，我们以今年封面的颜色表 .67
Fixed assets ...................................... 5,898 Term debt and other liabilities.. 1,890
Other assets ...................................... 1,054 Equity ..................................... 15,379
$23,267 $23,267
Earnings Statement (in $ millions)
2003 2002
Revenues ..................................................................... $32,106 $16,970
Operating expenses (including depreciation
of $605 in 2003 and $477 in 2002)...... ......................... 29,885 14,921
Interest expense (net)............................................................ 64 108
Pre-tax income................................................................. 2,157 1,941
Income taxes....................................................................... 813 743
Net income ................................................................... $ 1,344 $ 1,198
This eclectic group, which sells products ranging from Dilly Bars to B-737s,
earned a hefty 20.7% on average tangible net worth last year. However, we
purchased these businesses at substantial premiums to net worth – that fact is
reflected in the goodwill item shown on the balance sheet – and that reduces
the earnings on our average carrying value to 9.2%.
这个种类广泛的族群，所销售的产品从糖果棒到波音737都有，净资产报酬率却高
达20.7%，不过由于我们大多以大幅溢价的方式收购这些公司，所以资产负债表上
有大量的未摊销商誉，这使得我们帐面价值报酬率缩减为9.2%。
Here are the pre-tax earnings for the larger categories or units.
以下是其中几个主要项目的税前盈余。
Pre-Tax Earnings
(in $ millions)
2003 2002
Building Products ............................................ $ 559 $ 516
Shaw Industries .................................................. 436 424
Apparel .............................................................. 289 229
Retail Operations................................................ 224 219
Flight Services...................................................... 72 225
McLane *............................................................ 150 —
Other businesses ..................................... ......... 427 328
$2,157 $1,941
* From date of acquisition, May 23, 2003.
. Three of our building-materials businesses – Acme Brick, Benjamin Moore and
MiTek – had record operating earnings last year. And earnings at Johns Manville,
the fourth, were trending upward at yearend. Collectively, these companies
earned 21.0% on tangible net worth.
我们旗下三个建筑材料事业，Acme 砖块、Benjamin Moore油漆以及MiTek，去年
的获利纷纷创下历史新高，至于第四个事业-Johns Manville的表现也于年底开始提
升，总的来说，这些事业的净值报酬率高达21%。
. Shaw Industries, the world’s largest manufacturer of broadloom carpet, also
had a record year. Led by Bob Shaw, who built this huge enterprise from a
standing start, the company will likely set another earnings record in 2004. In
November, Shaw acquired various carpet operations from Dixie Group, which
should add about $240 million to sales this year, boosting Shaw’s volume to
nearly $5 billion.
Shaw地毯-全世界最大铺地地毯制造商，去年同样也缔造了历史记录，在Bob Shaw
的领导之下，从一家小公司发展成大企业，一般相信2004年该公司的获利会持续创
新高，同年11月Shaw又透过购并的方式买下年营业额2.4亿美元的Dixie集团，使得
Shaw的年营业额一举突破50亿美元。
. Within the apparel group, Fruit of the Loom is our largest operation. Fruit
has three major assets: a 148-year-old universally-recognized brand, a low-cost
manufacturing operation, and John Holland, its CEO. In 2003, Fruit accounted
for 42.3% of the men’s and boys’ underwear that was sold by mass marketers
(Wal-Mart, Target, K-Mart, etc.) and increased its share of the women’s and
girls’ business in that channel to 13.9%, up from 11.3% in 2002.
至于我们的服饰事业，规模最大的就属Fruit of the Loom，该公司主要拥有三项资
产，一是148年全世界知名的品牌、一是低制造成本、一是其总裁-John Holland，
2003年Fruit囊括威名百货、Target及K-mart等大卖场42.3%的男性及儿童内衣，而
女性及少女内衣的比例也从2002年的11.3%成长到13.9%。
. In retailing, our furniture group earned $106 million pre-tax, our jewelers
$59 million and See’s, which is both a manufacturer and retailer, $59 million.
零售业方面，我们的家具集团总计赚取了1.06亿美元的税前利益、珠宝事业则有
5,900万美元、喜斯糖果包含制造及销售在内，也赚了5,900万美元。
Both R.C. Willey and Nebraska Furniture Mart (“NFM”) opened hugely successful
stores last year, Willey in Las Vegas and NFM in Kansas City, Kansas. Indeed, we
believe the Kansas City store is the country’s largest-volume home-furnishings
store. (Our Omaha operation, while located on a single plot of land, consists of
three units.)
R.C.Willey及NFM在去年所开的新店都极为成功，Willey在拉斯维加斯，NFM则在堪
萨斯，实际上我们认为堪萨斯分店将会是全美最大的家具零售店(我们在奥玛哈的业
务，在同一个据点上，由三个建筑物所组成)。
NFM was founded by Rose Blumkin (“Mrs. B”) in 1937 with $500. She worked
until she was 103 (hmmm . . . not a bad idea). One piece of wisdom she
imparted to the generations following her was, “If you have the lowest price,
customers will find you at the bottom of a river.” Our store serving greater
Kansas City, which is located in one of the area’s more sparsely populated
parts, has proved Mrs. B’s point. Though we have more than 25 acres of
parking, the lot has at times overflowed.
NFM系由B太太在1937年以500美元所创立，她一直工作到103岁(嗯!这实在是一个不
错的好主意)，她灌输给下一代的一些智能包含，如果你拥有最低的价格，客户自然
会在最偏僻的角落找到你，就像我们的新店服务堪萨斯州广大的客户，其座落地点
位于该市人口最稀少的地区，就证明了这一点，虽然我们拥有广达25英亩的停车
位，但却依然时时一位难求。
“Victory,” President Kennedy told us after the Bay of Pigs disaster, “has a
thousand fathers, but defeat is an orphan.” At NFM, we knew we had a winner
a month after the boffo opening in Kansas City, when our new store attracted
an unexpected paternity claim. A speaker there, referring to the Blumkin
family, asserted, “They had enough confidence and the policies of the
Administration were working such that they were able to provide work for 1,000
of our fellow citizens.” The proud papa at the podium? President George W.
Bush.
甘乃迪总统在猪猡湾灾难发生后告诉我们，「胜利有成千上万的父亲，但失败却是
一个孤儿」，在NFM萨斯州分店轰动一时的开幕仪式一个月后，一位胜利者顺利诞
生，当时一位声称自己为父亲的人士突然造访，来宾引用B太太家族的话表示，他
们有信心且行政当局也正努力准备提供1,000个就业机会给当地市民，这位在讲台
上致词的来宾正是美国现任总统：布什。
. In flight services, FlightSafety, our training operation, experienced a drop in
“normal” operating earnings from $183 million to $150 million. (The abnormals:
In 2002 we had a $60 million pre-tax gain from the sale of a partnership interest
to Boeing, and in 2003 we recognized a $37 million loss stemming from the
premature obsolescence of simulators.) The corporate aviation business has
slowed significantly in the past few years, and this fact has hurt FlightSafety’s
results. The company continues, however, to be far and away the leader in its
field. Its simulators have an original cost of $1.2 billion, which is more than
triple the cost of those operated by our closest competitor.
在航空服务业方面，负责训练业务的国际飞安的正常营业利润从去年的1.83亿美元
下滑至1.5亿美元，(2002年由于出售先前合伙事业与波音公司帐上获得6,000万美元
的业外利益，2003年由于报废部份飞行仿真器，而提列3,700万美元的损失)，近年
来由于企业航空业务成长趋缓，使得国际飞安的业绩受到影响，不过该公司依然处
于业界的领导地位，该公司投入飞行仿真器的资金累积已达12亿美元，约当是第二
名的三倍。
NetJets, our fractional-ownership operation lost $41 million pre-tax in 2003.
The company had a modest operating profit in the U.S., but this was more than
offset by a $32 million loss on aircraft inventory and by continued losses in
Europe.
NetJets-我们飞机分时业务，2003年的税前损失是4,100万美元，该公司在美国地区
享有不错的经营利润，但是这些都被3,200万美元的飞机存货跌价损失以及欧洲地
区的亏损所抵消殆尽。
NetJets continues to dominate the fractional-ownership field, and its lead is
increasing: Prospects overwhelmingly turn to us rather than to our three major
competitors. Last year, among the four of us, we accounted for 70% of net sales
(measured by value).
NetJets依然主宰整个飞机分时业界，且领先的幅度持续拉大，相较于其它三个竞争
对手，优势明显站在我们这一边，去年以销售净额计算，我们的市场占有率高达
70%。
An example of what sets NetJets apart from competitors is our Mayo Clinic
Executive Travel Response program, a free benefit enjoyed by all of our
owners. On land or in the air, anywhere in the world and at any hour of any
day, our owners and their families have an immediate link to Mayo. Should an
emergency occur while they are traveling here or abroad, Mayo will instantly
direct them to an appropriate doctor or hospital. Any baseline data about the
patient that Mayo possesses is simultaneously made available to the treating
physician. Many owners have already found this service invaluable, including
one who needed emergency brain surgery in Eastern Europe.
有个例子足以说明NetJets为何可以拉大与竞争对手的差距，我们所推出与美国著名
医疗机构Mayo Clinic合作的主管旅行响应系统，这是NetJets所有客户都可免费享
有的专属福利，不论是在陆地上或者是在空中，不论是在世界上任何一个角落，不
论何时何地，我们的客户及其家人都可以与Mayo医院取得直接联系，一旦意外发
生，不论是在国内或者是海外，Mayo都会立即将他们受到最合适的医院与医生那里
接受医疗服务，而Mayo所拥有与病人有关的所有医疗记录也将立即传送给负责医疗
的医生，在这项服务开始提供之后，许多客户立即发现其珍贵之处，包含一位曾在
东欧地区接受脑部紧急手术的客户。
The $32 million inventory write-down we took in 2003 occurred because of
falling prices for used aircraft early in the year. Specifically, we bought back
fractions from withdrawing owners at prevailing prices, and these fell in value
before we were able to remarket them. Prices are now stable.
我们在2003年认列的3,200万存货跌价损失，其发生的原因在于当年度中古飞机价
格下滑的因素，其中较特别的是我们以当时的市场价格从一些退订的客户手中买回
部份所有权，而在我们再度将他们出售之前，市场价格进一步滑落所致，目前市场
价格已趋于稳定。
The European loss is painful. But any company that forsakes Europe, as all of
our competitors have done, is destined for second-tier status. Many of our U.S.
owners fly extensively in Europe and want the safety and security assured by a
NetJets plane and pilots. Despite a slow start, furthermore, we are now adding
European customers at a good pace. During the years 2001 through 2003, we
had gains of 88%, 61% and 77% in European management-and-flying revenues.
We have not, however, yet succeeded in stemming the flow of red ink.
欧洲地区的损失相当令人头痛，但任何一家放弃欧洲地区业务的公司，(如同我们其
他竞争同业的做法)，终将成为市场的二军，许多美国地区的客户时常飞到欧洲，他
们希望NetJets的飞机以及机师也能提供同样的安全与便利，虽然起步较晚，但我们
欧洲地区的客户数也正稳定地增加中，2001年到2003年的营收成长率分别是88%、
61%以及77%，但截至目前为止依然未达到损益两平的阶段。
Rich Santulli, NetJets’ extraordinary CEO, and I expect our European loss to
diminish in 2004 and also anticipate that it will be more than offset by U.S.
profits. Overwhelmingly, our owners love the NetJets experience. Once a
customer has tried us, going back to commercial aviation is like going back to
holding hands. NetJets will become a very big business over time and will be
one in which we are preeminent in both customer satisfaction and profits. Rich
will see to that.
NetJets杰出的总裁-Rich Santulli以及我本人都有信心欧洲地区会在2004年转亏为
盈，也预期美国地区将持续获利，更重要的是，我们的客户爱死了NetJets所提供的
服务，一旦客户尝试过我们的服务，就很难要他们在回到过去所搭乘传统的航空公
司班机，可以肯定的是就长期而言，NetJets一定可以发展成一个大企业，同时在客
户满意以及企业获利上，获得重大成果，我相信Rich一定可以做到这一点。
Investments
股票投资
The table that follows shows our common stock investments. Those that had a
market value of more than $500 million at the end of 2003 are itemized.
下表是Berkshire 2003年市价超过5亿美元以上的股票投资。
12/31/03
Shares Company
Percentage of
Company Owned Cost Market
(in $ millions)
151,610,700 American Express Company ............ 11.8 $ 1,470 $ 7,312
200,000,000 The Coca-Cola Company ................. 8.2 1,299 10,150
96,000,000 The Gillette Company ...................... 9.5 600 3,526
14,610,900 H&R Block, Inc................................ 8.2 227 809
15,476,500 HCA Inc. .......................................... 3.1 492 665
6,708,760 M&T Bank Corporation ................... 5.6 103 659
24,000,000 Moody’s Corporation ....................... 16.1 499 1,453
2,338,961,000 PetroChina Company Limited .......... 1.3 488 1,340
1,727,765 The Washington Post Company ....... 18.1 11 1,367
56,448,380 Wells Fargo & Company................. 3.3 463 3,324
Others ................................................. 2,863 4,682
Total Common Stocks .......................... $ 8,515 $35,287
We bought some Wells Fargo shares last year. Otherwise, among our six largest
holdings, we last changed our position in Coca-Cola in 1994, American Express
in 1998, Gillette in 1989, Washington Post in 1973, and Moody’s in 2000. Brokers
don’t love us.
去年我们增加了一些Wells Fargo股票，除此之外，在我们六大持股当中，可口可乐
最后一次调整持股的时间是1994年、美国运通是1998年、吉列是1989年、华盛顿邮
报是1973年，而慕迪信用是2000年，股票营业员实在拿我们没有办法。
We are neither enthusiastic nor negative about the portfolio we hold. We own
pieces of excellent businesses – all of which had good gains in intrinsic value
last year – but their current prices reflect their excellence. The unpleasant
corollary to this conclusion is that I made a big mistake in not selling several of
our larger holdings during The Great Bubble. If these stocks are fully priced
now, you may wonder what I was thinking four years ago when their intrinsic
value was lower and their prices far higher. So do I.
对于目前手头持有的这些投资组合，我们既不觉到特别兴奋，也没有抱持负面看
法，我们拥有的是一些优质企业的部份所有权，虽然去年这些企业的实质价值都有
着长足的进步，可是同样的其杰出的表现也反应在其股价之上，当然从另一个角度
来推论，这也代表个人没有在股市泡沫化期间出脱这些持股是个重大的错误，换句
话说，如果这些股票的价值现在都已充分反应的话，我想你一定会联想到四年前，
当它们的实质价值更低，股价更高时，我在做什么。我也觉得很奇怪。
In 2002, junk bonds became very cheap, and we purchased about $8 billion of
these. The pendulum swung quickly though, and this sector now looks decidedly
unattractive to us. Yesterday’s weeds are today being priced as flowers.
回顾2002年，当时的垃圾债券价格相当便宜，所以我们一口气买了80亿美元，只是
钟摆显然摆荡的很快，目前这方面的投资标的，很显然地对我们已没有任何吸引
力，昔日的野草如今被人捧为鲜花。
We’ve repeatedly emphasized that realized gains at Berkshire are meaningless
for analytical purposes. We have a huge amount of unrealized gains on our
books, and our thinking about when, and if, to cash them depends not at all on
a desire to report earnings at one specific time or another. Nevertheless, to see
the diversity of our investment activities, you may be interested in the
following table, categorizing the gains we reported during 2003:
个人一再重申已实现的资本利得，对于分析Berkshire来说，一点用处都没有，我们
帐上拥有大量的未实现资本利得，何时该实现，其考量点完全与某些特定日期的财
务报表完全没有关连，但有鉴于Berkshire的投资活动日益多元化，大家或许对于以
下表列2003年的数字会感到有兴趣。
Category Pre-Tax Gain
(in $ million)
Common Stocks .............................................................. $ 448
U.S. Government Bonds.................................................... 1,485
Junk Bonds ...................................................................... 1,138
Foreign Exchange Contracts ............................................... 825
Other.................................................................................. 233
$4,129
The common stock profits occurred around the edges of our portfolio – not, as
