巴菲特致股东的信（2016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

Our BNSF railroad and Berkshire Hathaway Energy (“BHE”), our 90%-owned utility business, share important characteristics that distinguish them from Berkshire’s other activities. 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. These two very major companies accounted for 33% of Berkshire’s after-tax operating earnings last year.

我们拥有的BNSF 铁路和拥有90%股份的BHE 能源，与伯克希尔其他业务有着不同的重要特征。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，在这封信中为它们分配了独立板块单独来谈。这两家大型公司合计占伯克希尔税后收益的33%。

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 would far exceed its interest requirements. Last year, for example, in a disappointing year for railroads, BNSF’s interest coverage was more than 6:1. (Our definition of coverage is the ratio of earnings before interest and taxes to 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、受监管的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，因为每家公司都有盈利能力，即使在经济状况恶化时，也远超其利息支付需求。比如，去年在铁路行业令人失望的一年里，BNSF 的利息覆盖倍数超过了6:1(我们对利息覆盖倍数的定义是息税前利润/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 for which demand is remarkably steady. The second is enjoyed by few other utilities: an ever-widening diversity of earnings streams, which shield BHE from being seriously harmed by any single regulatory body. These many sources of profit, supplemented by the inherent advantage of the company being owned by a strong parent, have allowed BHE and its utility subsidiaries to significantly lower their cost of debt. That economic fact benefits both us and our customers.

与此同时，有两个因素保证BHE 能源能在任何情况下都有能力偿付债务。第一个是所有公共事业的共同点：抗经济衰退的盈利能力，这来自于这些公司独家提供社会基础服务的结果，所以需求非常稳定。第二个只有少数几个公共事业公司享有的特定优势，即不断扩大的多元化的收益来源，使BHE 免受任何单一监管机构的伤害。这些多元化的收益来源，加上强大母公司的固有优势，让BHE 及其公共事业子公司能够大幅度降低债务成本。这一经济因素对我们和我们的客户都有利。

All told, BHE and BNSF invested $8.9 billion in plant and equipment last year, a massive commitment to their segments of America’s infrastructure. We relish making such investments as long as they promise reasonable returns – and, on that front, we put a large amount of trust in future regulation.

总的来说，BHE 能源和BNSF 铁路去年在工厂和设备方面投资了89 亿美元，这是对美国的基础设施关键组成部分做出的重大贡献。只要它们能够承诺合理的回报，我们很愿意进行此类投资。在这方面，我们对未来的监管有绝对的信心。

Our confidence is justified both by our past experience and by the knowledge that society will forever need huge 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.

我们的这种自信心是合理的，不仅因为我们过去的经验，还有我们对社会清晰的认识，即社会永远需要在交通和能源方面进行大规模投资。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，也符合我们自身利益。

Low prices are a powerful way to keep these constituencies happy. In Iowa, BHE’s average retail rate is 7.1¢ per KWH. Alliant, the other major electric utility in the state, averages 9.9¢. Here are the comparable industry figures for adjacent states: Nebraska 9.0¢, Missouri 9.5¢, Illinois 9.2¢, Minnesota 10.0¢. The national average is 10.3¢. We have promised Iowans that our base rates will not increase until 2029 at the earliest. Our rock-bottom prices add up to real money for paycheck-strapped customers.

低廉的价格是让这些支持者们满意的有力方式。在爱荷华州，BHE 能源的平均零售价是7.1 美分/千瓦时，该州的另一家主要电力公司Alliant 的均价是9.9 美分。这里有一些来自附近州的行业可比数据：内布拉斯加州9 美分、密苏尔州9.5 美分、伊利诺伊州9.2 美分、明尼苏达州10 美分。全美的平均价格大概是10.3 美分。我们已经向爱荷华州承诺，最早要到2029 年我们的基本费率才会上涨。我们最低的价格为那些工薪阶层的客户节省了真金白银。

At BNSF, price comparisons between major railroads are far more difficult to make because of significant differences in both their mix of cargo and the average distance the load is carried. To supply a very crude measure, however, our revenue per ton-mile was 3¢ last year, while shipping costs for customers of the other four major U.S.-based railroads ranged from 4¢ to 5¢.

对于BNSF 铁路而言，主要的铁路公司之间价格比较则要困难得多，因为他们在货物组合和平均运输里程上都存在着巨大的差异。然而，为了提供一个粗略的衡量标准，去年我们收费略低于3 美分/吨英里，然而其他四大铁路公司的客户平均运输成本从4 美分到5 美分不等。

Both BHE and BNSF have been leaders in pursuing planet-friendly technology. In wind generation, no state comes close to rivaling Iowa, where last year the megawatt-hours we generated from wind equaled 55% of all megawatt-hours sold to our Iowa retail customers. New wind projects that are underway will take that figure to 89% by 2020.

BHE 能源和BNSF 铁路已经成为美国追求环保型技术的领头羊。在风力发电方面，没有一个州能够跟爱荷华州相比，去年我们在那里生产的风电兆瓦数相当销售给零售客户所有兆瓦数的55%。到2020 年，正在进行的风电项目将会使这个比例达到89%。

Bargain-basement electric rates carry second-order benefits with them. Iowa has attracted large high- tech installations, both because of its low prices for electricity (which data centers use in huge quantities) and because most tech CEOs are enthusiastic about using renewable energy. When it comes to wind energy, Iowa is the Saudi Arabia of America.

此外，低廉的电价带来了二级好处。目前，爱荷华州已经吸引了大量高科技设施前来。一方面是因为其低廉的电价非常有吸引力(数据中心使用大量电力)；另一方面是因为，很多高科技企业的CEO 热衷于使用可再生能源。谈及风能资源，爱荷华州可以被称作是美国的沙特阿拉伯。

BNSF, like other Class I railroads, uses only a single gallon of diesel fuel to move a ton of freight almost 500 miles. Those economics make railroads four times as fuel-efficient as trucks! Furthermore, railroads alleviate highway congestion – and the taxpayer-funded maintenance expenditures that come with heavier traffic – in a major way.

BNSF 铁路和其他一级铁路公司一样，仅仅用一加仑柴油就可以运输一吨货物近500 英里。这些经济效益使得铁路的燃油效率是卡车的4 倍！而且，铁路运输很大程度上减少了公路拥堵情况，以及严重拥堵所带来的纳税人出资的巨大维护开销。

All told, BHE and BNSF own assets that are of major importance to our country as well as to shareholders of Berkshire. Here are the key financial figures for both:

总之，无论对于美国，还是对伯克希尔的股东们，BHE 能源和BNSF 铁路所拥有的资产具有非常重大的意义。以下是两家公司的关键财务数据：

HomeServices may appear out of place in the above table. But it came with our purchase of MidAmerican (now BHE) in 1999 – and we are lucky that it did.

上表中出现的家庭服务公司(HomeServices)可能有些不适当。但这家公司是在1999 年跟随我们收购的中美能源(现在的BHE)而来，我们非常幸运的买到了它。

HomeServices owns 38 realty companies with more than 29,000 agents who operate in 28 states. Last year it purchased four realtors, including Houlihan Lawrence, the leader in New York’s Westchester County (in a transaction that closed shortly after yearend).

目前，家庭服务公司在美国28 个州拥有38 家经纪公司，超过2.9 万名经纪人。去年，该公司收购了4 家房产经纪商，其中就包括纽约Westchester 地区的龙头房产公司Houlihan Lawrence(这项收购交易刚刚在年底时完成)。

In real estate parlance, representing either a buyer or a seller is called a “side,” with the representation of both counting as two sides. Last year, our owned realtors participated in 244,000 sides, totaling $86 billion in volume.

在房地产术语中，买方或者卖方被称作是"一方"，双方的代理被称作是"两方"。去年，我们自营的房地产经纪人参与了24.4 万人次交易，总的交易额为860 亿美元。

HomeServices also franchises many operations throughout the country that use our name. We like both aspects of the real estate business and expect to acquire many realtors and franchisees during the next decade.

家庭服务公司的全美各地拥有许多允许使用我们品牌的特许经纪商。我们对房地产行业的方方面面都感到非常满意。预期在未来十年时间里，该公司将会收购更多的房地产经纪商和特许加盟商。