巴菲特致股东的信（2003年）⑪制造、服务及零售业的运营

Manufacturing, Service and Retailing Operations

制造、服务及零售业的运营

Our activities in this category cover the waterfront. But let’s look at a simplified balance sheet and earnings statement consolidating the entire group.

这个项目的业务种类相当繁多，但请先看一看简化的资产负债表以及利润表的合并数字。

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，平均净有形资产回报率却高达 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，这使得我们平均帐面价值回报率缩减为 9.2%。

Here are the pre-tax earnings for the larger categories or units.

以下是其中几个主要业务的税前收益。

• 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.

• 去年，我们的三项建筑材料业务--Acme Brick、Benjamin Moore 和 MiTek--的营业收入均创下历史新高。第四家公司约翰斯-曼维尔（Johns Manville）的收益在年底时呈上升趋势。总体而言，这些公司的有形净资产收益率为 21.0%。

• 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.

• 世界上最大的宽幅地毯生产商肖氏工业公司（Shaw Industries）今年的业绩也创下了新高。在鲍勃-肖的领导下，这家白手起家的巨型企业很可能在 2004 年再创新高。 11 月份，Shaw 收购了 Dixie 集团的各种地毯业务，今年的销售额将增加约 2.4 亿美元，使 Shaw 的销售额达到近 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.

• 至于我们的服装业务，规模最大的就属鲜果布衣，该公司主要拥有三项核心竞争力，一是 148 年全世界知名的品牌、二是低制造成本、三是其总裁 JohnHolland，2003 年鲜果布衣覆盖沃尔玛、Target 及 Kmart 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.

• 零售业务，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 5900 万美元、喜诗糖果包含制造及销售在内，也赚了 5900 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.)

威利家具(R.C.Willey)及内布拉斯加家具店在去年所开的新店都极为成功，Willey 在拉斯维加斯，内布拉斯加家具店则在堪萨斯，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(我们在奥马哈的业务，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.

内布拉斯加家具店系由 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慧包含，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.

肯尼迪总统在猪猡湾灾难发生后告诉我们，「胜利者的父亲有千千万，但失败者却一个也没有」，在内布拉斯加家具店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，他们有信心且行政层也正努力准备提供 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，负责训练业务的飞安公司的正常经营收益从去年的 1.83 亿美元下滑至 1.5 亿美元，(2002 年由于出售先前合伙与波音公司合资企业而获得 6,000 万美元的经营外收益，2003 年由于报废部分飞行模拟器，而提列 3,700 万美元的减值损失)，近年来由于企业航空业务成长趋缓，使得飞安公司的业绩受到影响，不过该公司依然处于业界的领导地位，该公司投入飞行模拟器的资金累积已达 12 亿美元，约是第二名的三倍。

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.

我们共享飞机业务 NetJets，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 万美元的飞机存货减值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 依然领导整个共享飞机业务，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 MayoClinic 合作的高管旅行响应系统，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 万存货减值损失，其发生的原因在于当年老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分所有权，而在我们再度将他们出售之前，市场价格进一步下滑所致，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，(如同我们其它竞争同业的做法)，终将沦为市场的二流，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 RichSantulli 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，就很难要他们再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。