Warren Buffett's 2008 Letter to Berkshire Hathaway Shareholders

2008 Annual Letter

The Berkshire Hathaway 2008 annual letter authored by Warren Buffett will be posted on the Internet on Saturday February 28, 2009, at approximately 8:00 a.m. (read the letter here) eastern time and will be one of the most anticipated letters in decades.

People will be looking for indicators of where the company has been in the last 12 months and more importantly where they are going in the future.

Of particular importance to all investors will be a heads up on where the big guy sees the world economy going.

The letter will be available at Everything Warren Buffett in PDF and a little latter HTML.

Keep watching, the next 2 weeks will be big for Warren Buffett news, commentary and analysis.

Related Links

Political Animal - New Zealand Politics
Share Investor Blog - Stockmarket & Business commentary
Share Investor New Zealand Business News- Get more business news
Shareinvestorforum.com - Discuss this topic further

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The Essays of Warren Buffett: Lessons for Corporate America, Second Edition by Warren E. Buffett
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c Share Investor 2009

Sky City Entertainment 2009 Interim Profit Review

One of the best results by a long shot this reporting season was the interim 2009 profit for the six months ended 31 December 2008 for Sky City Entertainment Ltd [SKC.NZ] which was revealed this morning.

While most companies that have already reported in February have recorded slumping profits, Sky City has delivered net profit of $54.8 million for the half year, compared to $55.9 million for the first half last year-that profit was before a writedown of $60 million due to the money losing cinema division.

A drop of $1.1 million during the current economic slowdown is nothing short of breathtakingly spectacular to this shareholder. (see chart)

Of particular interest to me was that this profit was produced on revenue that was dead flat but on lower tax paid and due to around $9 million in extra operating costs.

Labour and energy costs would have taken the bulk of that and the lower tax rate attributed to the lowering of corporate taxes from 33 to 30%, so it looks like much of the vaunted cost savings that were launched around 16 months ago have come to an end.

A very pleasing turn of events was the announcement of a dropping of dividends from 90% of profit payout to 60-70%.

This is something that I have advocated and wrote about just last week.

This will enable the company to pay down more debt than the $24 million that they have in the last 6 months and a wise move considering the current credit squeeze.

The focus by Nigel Morrison in his first nearly full 12 months as CEO, on keeping down costs, efficient use of capital and maximising returns on existing assets is a good move away from the previous CEO Evan Davies and his expensive expansionist ways.

Once again Sky's Cinema division is still losing money even though it has improved revenues by 15%-mainly due to more cinema screens and higher ticket prices.

Once again I must say it is a turkey and it needs its neck wrung.

As I mentioned in the Sky City Preamble published last Saturday the erratic "high rollers" revenue, was well, erratic. Down substantially this year and the win rate fell on the average for the casino, rather than last years favourable one.

Company indications for the next 6 months of operations was pretty vague, as one might expect in the current environment. Nobody is giving clear forecasts for profit or revenue and that is wise should the company disappoint the rabid market.

Sky City shares finished today even.


Sky City @ Share Investor

Sky City Entertainment 2009 Interim Result Preamble
2008 Sky City profit analysis
Sky City Entertainment 2008 Full Year profit results , NZX release, 2008 full year presentation, result briefing webcast, financial statements
Sky City 2008 profit preamble
Sky City outlines a clear future plan
As recession bites Sky City bites back
Sky City Assets: Buy, sell and hold
Why did you buy that stock? [Sky City Entertainment]
Sky City Share Volumes set tongues wagging
Sky City half year exceptional on cost cutting
NZX Press release: Sky City profit to HY end Dec 2007
Sky City Cinemas no Blockbuster
Sky City Entertainment share price drop
New Broom set to sweep
Sky City Management: Blind, deaf and numb
Sky City sale could be off
Opposition to takeover
Premium for control
Sky City receives takeover bid
Sky City Casino Full Year Profit to June 30 2007
Setting the record straight
Sky City CEO resigns
Sky City Casino: Under performing
Sky City Casino 2007 HY Profit(analysis)
Sky City Casino 2007 HY Profit

Share Investor Forum-Discuss this topic

Related Links

	Sky City interim results for 6 months ended 31 December 2008.
	2009 Interim Result Presentation
	Media Release
	NZX Announcement
	Financial Statements
	Result Briefing Webcast

Sky City Financial Data

• Summary
• Charts
• Dividends
• News
• Announcements
• Price History
• Related Securities

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c Share Investor 2009

New Zealand Financial Oversight bodies fail Blue Chip investors

"We've already sold our home. We're in a one-bedroom council flat. That's all we've got."

Two former Blue Chip "investors" in their 70s, in Mark Bryer's Blue Chip Ponzi Scheme forced to sell their house after losing all they have.

Meanwhile Bryer's runs a similar company in Sydney and according to The NZ Herald is receiving money into his personal bank account from one of his collapsed companies that is owed to creditors-creditors like those above.

Yes Bryer's is free to go about his merry way like he always has.

Now I know about innocent until proven guilty and all that stuff but the evidence to support fraud committed by this individual is as clear as a Bernard Madoff Ponzi Scheme.

Bryer's has committed fraud, has ruined many lives and led some to commit suicide because of the financial position they have found themselves in because of Bryer's Blue Chip house of cards.

Why the hell have the Serious Fraud Office and the police let him free?

He is clearly a flight risk. Many fraudsters in the past have gone on the run and never been brought to justice.

He has committed very serious offences that if committed in other jurisdictions, say the United States for example, he would have been slapped in leg irons by now.

The law and the Serious Fraud Office have been found wanting over this particular rip-off and there have been many more finance companies, pyramid schemes, "financial advisers" and even main-stream banks that have so far been left off the hook.

This Mark Bryer's bastard needs to be brought to account, tried, convicted and sent to prison for at least 10 years.

Judging by our financial governing bodies modus operandi so far though it seems Bryer's and his filthy ilk could be walking free for some time to come.

That needs to change.

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Mark Bryer's at the top of a very shaky pyramid

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The tangled web of Blue Chip - New Zealand Herald in-depth look at Blue Chip Fraud


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c Share Investor 2009

Sky City Entertainment 2009 Interim Result Preamble

Sky City Entertainment [SKC.NZ] is announcing its 2009 interim result on Monday 23 February (view the webcast here 10.am NZ Time ) and I for one will be keenly interested in that result.

Sky City is the largest shareholding in the Share Investor Portfolio and indications from the company in October for first quarter revenues for 2009 were up 3% year on year, excluding its high-roller and money losing cinema divisions.

Standout performers in the first quarter were its Darwin and Queenstown properties (both up 7%), but the company’s Auckland casino, where the bulk of revenue is derived, was down 2%.

As this excerpt from a mid 2008 letter to shareholders the focus will be on cutting costs:

"Our shareholders have made it clear to us that they want us to focus on maximising the performance of the assets we operate. This is what we will be doing. as we have said previously, we expect to achieve this within an 18-month time frame. We will retain tight control over capital and not expend capital unless we are very confident of healthy returns for shareholders".

This cost cutting was first apparent in the previous interim result in Feb 2008 and continued through to the 2008 Full Year result in August of the same year.

Clearly if first quarter 2009 revenue has continued into the second quarter and cost cutting has further strengthened then Monday's result will be a good one.

The only two wildcards will be the massive economic slowdown since October and wins/losses from the high rollers, which can alter the result markedly.

For a more extended analysis of what might be see Value Cruncher for Reuters and other analyst's outlooks on revenue and profit margins for Sky City to June 2011.

Sky City shares reached near multi-year lows on Friday 20 Feb closing on overall market weakness.

Sky City Entertainment Ltd Ordinary Shares

As at 6:15 pm, 20 Feb
Sky City @ Share Investor

2008 Sky City profit analysis
Sky City Entertainment 2008 Full Year profit results , NZX release, 2008 full year presentation, result briefing webcast, financial statements
Sky City 2008 profit preamble
Sky City outlines a clear future plan
As recession bites Sky City bites back
Sky City Assets: Buy, sell and hold
Why did you buy that stock? [Sky City Entertainment]
Sky City Share Volumes set tongues wagging
Sky City half year exceptional on cost cutting
NZX Press release: Sky City profit to HY end Dec 2007
Sky City Cinemas no Blockbuster
Sky City Entertainment share price drop
New Broom set to sweep
Sky City Management: Blind, deaf and numb
Sky City sale could be off
Opposition to takeover
Premium for control
Sky City receives takeover bid
Sky City Casino Full Year Profit to June 30 2007
Setting the record straight
Sky City CEO resigns
Sky City Casino: Under performing
Sky City Casino 2007 HY Profit(analysis)
Sky City Casino 2007 HY Profit

Share Investor Forum-Discuss this topic

Related Links

	SKYCITY will announce the 2009 Interim results on Monday 23rd February 2009. Please click here to access the media webcast link.

Sky City Financial Data

• Summary
• Charts
• Dividends
• News
• Announcements
• Price History
• Related Securities

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c Share Investor 2009