(Bloomberg) — Berkshire Hathaway Inc., the conglomerate controlled by billionaire Warren Buffett, said fourth-quarter profit climbed 32% on investments and earnings from the company's expanding stable of operating businesses.

Net income rose to $5.48 billion, or $3,333 a share, from $4.16 billion, or $2,529, a year earlier, the company said Saturday in a statement. Operating earnings, which exclude some investment results, were $2,843 a share, beating the average $2,814 estimate of three analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.

The results cap another record year for Buffett, Berkshire's chairman and chief executive officer. Over the past five decades, he has built the Omaha, Nebraska-based company into a sprawling enterprise with a stock portfolio valued at more than $110 billion and interests in insurance, energy, manufacturing, media, retail and transportation.

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