巴菲特致股东的信（2014年）⑤受监管的资本密集型业务

Regulated, Capital-Intensive Businesses

受监管的资本密集型业务

We have two major operations, BNSF and Berkshire Hathaway Energy (“BHE”), that share important characteristics distinguishing them from our other businesses. Consequently, we assign them their own section in this letter and split out their combined financial statistics in our GAAP balance sheet and income statement.

我们主要有两块业务，BNSF 铁路和伯克希尔能源(BHE)，拥有与我们其他业务不同特征的共同的特点。所以，我们把他们的各项财务数据从我们GAAP 的负债表和收益表中分离出来，在这封信中单独来谈。

A key characteristic of both companies is their huge investment in very long-lived, regulated assets, with these partially funded by large amounts of long-term debt that is not guaranteed by Berkshire. Our credit is in fact not needed because each company has earning power that even under terrible economic conditions will far exceed its interest requirements. Last year, for example, BNSF’s interest coverage was more than 8:1. (Our definition of coverage is pre-tax earnings/interest, not EBITDA/interest, a commonly used measure we view as seriously flawed.)

这两家公司的一个关键特征是，对非常长期的、受监管资产进行了巨额投资。这些资产部分资金来自伯克希尔不提供担保的大额长期债务。事实上这些资产并不需要我们的信贷支持，因为即使在经济状况恶化时，它们的盈利能力也远超其利息要求。比如，去年BNSF 的利息覆盖倍数是8:1(我们对利息覆盖倍数的定义是税前收益/利息，而不是息税折旧摊销前利润/利息，尽管后者被普遍使用，但我们觉得存在严重缺陷)。

At BHE, meanwhile, two factors ensure the company’s ability to service its debt under all circumstances. The first is common to all utilities: recession-resistant earnings, which result from these companies offering an essential service on an exclusive basis. The second is enjoyed by few other utilities: a great diversity of earnings streams, which shield us from being seriously harmed by any single regulatory body. Recently, we have further broadened that base through our $3 billion (Canadian) acquisition of AltaLink, an electric transmission system serving 85% of Alberta’s population. This multitude of profit streams, supplemented by the inherent advantage of being owned by a strong parent, has enabled BHE and its utility subsidiaries to significantly lower their cost of debt. This economic fact benefits both us and our customers.

同时，对BHE 而言，有两个因素保证公司能在任何情况下都有能力偿付债务。第一个是所有公用事业的共同点：抗衰退收益，这来自于这些公司提供独家服务的结果。第二个只有少数几个公用事业公司享有，即多元化的收益来源，使我们免受任何单一监管机构的伤害。最近，我们进一步扩大了这一基础，我们用30 亿美元收购了AltaLink，这是一个为加拿大Alberta 州85%的人口提供服务的输电系统。通过多元化收益来源，加上母公司的固有优势，让BHE 及其公用事业子公司能够大幅度降低债务成本。这种模式对我们和我们的客户都有利。

Every day, our two subsidiaries power the American economy in major ways:

每天，我们的两家子公司都在以重要方式为美国经济提供动力。

● BNSF carries about 15% (measured by ton-miles) of all inter-city freight, whether it is transported by truck, rail, water, air, or pipeline. Indeed, we move more ton-miles of goods than anyone else, a fact establishing BNSF as the most important artery in our economy’s circulatory system.

1，BNSF 承担了15%的城际货物运输量(按吨英里计)，无论是公路、铁路、水运、空运或是管道。事实上，我们的货运量超过任何人。

BNSF, like all railroads, also moves its cargo in an extraordinarily fuel-efficient and environmentally friendly way, carrying a ton of freight about 500 miles on a single gallon of diesel fuel. Trucks taking on the same job guzzle about four times as much fuel.

这让BNSF 成为美国经济循环系统中最为重要的大动脉。像所有铁路公司一样，BNSF以节能环保的方式运输货物，1 加仑柴油能将一吨货物运输500 英里。完成同样的任务卡车要消耗4 倍的燃料。

● BHE’s utilities serve regulated retail customers in eleven states. No utility company stretches further. In addition, we are a leader in renewables: From a standing start ten years ago, BHE now accounts for 6% of the country’s wind generation capacity and 7% of its solar generation capacity. Beyond these businesses, BHE owns two large pipelines that deliver 8% of our country’s natural gas consumption; the recently- purchased electric transmission operation in Canada; and major electric businesses in the U.K. and Philippines. And the beat goes on: We will continue to buy and build utility operations throughout the world for decades to come.

2，BHE 的公用事业项目为11 个州的零售客户提供服务。没有一家公用事业的服务范围能超过它。而且，我们是在可再生能源方面的领导者：从十年前开始，BHE 提供了美国6%的风能发电量和7%的太阳能发电量。除此之外，BHE 还有两条大型管道，运输全美8%的天然气消费量。还有最近收购的加拿大输电公司，及在英国和菲律宾的大型电力公司。我们还将在未来数十年收购和建造更多的公用事业项目。

BHE can make these investments because it retains all of its earnings. In fact, last year the company retained more dollars of earnings – by far – than any other American electric utility. We and our regulators see this 100% retention policy as an important advantage – one almost certain to distinguish BHE from other utilities for many years to come.

BHE 之所以能做出这些投资，是因为它保留了所有收益。事实上去年BHE 留存的收益比美国任何一家电力公司都要多。我们和我们的监管机构认为这种100%保留收益的政策视为一个巨大优势。这也将让BHE 在未来数年内在行业中独领风骚。

When BHE completes certain renewables projects that are underway, the company’s renewables portfolio will have cost $15 billion. In addition, we have conventional projects in the works that will also cost many billions. We relish making such commitments as long as they promise reasonable returns – and, on that front, we put a large amount of trust in future regulation.

当BHE 完成这些目前在建的可再生能源项目时，公司整个再生能源资产组合将耗资150 亿美元。此外，我们正在进行的其他传统项目也要花费数十亿美元。只要它们在未来能获得合理的回报，我们乐于做出这些投入。而且，我对未来的监管抱有极大的信心。

Our confidence is justified both by our past experience and by the knowledge that society will forever need massive investments in both transportation and energy. It is in the self-interest of governments to treat capital providers in a manner that will ensure the continued flow of funds to essential projects. It is concomitantly in our self-interest to conduct our operations in a way that earns the approval of our regulators and the people they represent.

我们的信心来自于既有我们过去的经验，还有我们对社会永远需要在交通和能源方面进行大规模投资的认识。以确保资金持续流向重大项目的方式对待资本提供者，符合各地政府的自身利益。同时，以获得监管机构及其所代表的民众信任的方式开展业务，也符合我们自身带来利益。

Last year we fully met this objective at BHE, just as we have in every year of our ownership. Our rates remain low, our customer satisfaction is high and our record for employee safety is among the best in the industry.

去年伯克希尔能源一如既往地完全实现了这一目标，我们的费率一直很低，客户的满意度很高，我们的员工安全记录也是行业内最好的。

The story at BNSF, however – as I noted earlier – was not good in 2014, a year in which the railroad disappointed many of its customers. This problem occurred despite the record capital expenditures that BNSF has made in recent years, with those having far exceeded the outlays made by Union Pacific, our principal competitor.

就像我之前指出的一样，去年BNSF 铁路的表现并不好，这一年的铁路行业令很多客户失望，尽管BNSF 近几年的资本支出创下新高，远超其主要竞争对手联合太平洋铁路公司(Union Pacific)，但这个问题还是出现了。

The two railroads are of roughly equal size measured by revenues, though we carry considerably more freight (measured either by carloads or ton-miles). But our service problems exceeded Union Pacific’s last year, and we lost market share as a result. Moreover, U.P.’s earnings beat ours by a record amount. Clearly, we have a lot of work to do.

两家铁路公司的收入规模大致相当，尽管我们的货运量更多(以车载或吨英里计)。但我们的服务还是出现了比联合太平洋更多的问题，因此我们失去了部分市场份额。此外，联合太平洋去年比我们盈利高出的规模创下记录。显然，我们还有很多工作要做。

We are wasting no time: As I also mentioned earlier, we will spend $6 billion in 2015 on improving our railroad’s operation. That will amount to about 26% of estimated revenues (a calculation that serves as the industry’s yardstick). Outlays of this magnitude are largely unheard of among railroads. For us, this percentage compares to our average of 18% in 2009-2013 and to U.P.’s projection for the near future of 16-17%. Our huge investments will soon lead to a system with greater capacity and much better service. Improved profits should follow.

但我们也没有浪费时间：正如我之前提到的，我们将在2015 年花费60 亿美元以改善我们的铁路运营。这笔钱预计将占到今年收入的26% (这是该行业的衡量标准)。这种规模的支出在整个铁路行业都是闻所未闻的。对我们来说，这一比例与2009-2013 年18%的平均水平，以及联合太平洋16-17%的未来计划相比，形成了鲜明对比。我们大规模的投资将很快带来运力更大和服务更好的系统，盈利也会很快改善。

Here are the key figures for Berkshire Hathaway Energy and BNSF:

下面是伯克希尔能源(BHE)和伯灵顿北方圣达菲铁路公司(BNSF)的一些主要财务数据：