Buffett's Berkshire says quarterly profit rises 15 percent

Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc on Saturday said fourth-quarter profit rose 15 percent from a year earlier, helped by gains from investments and derivatives.

Net income rose to $6.29 billion, or $3,823 per Class Ashare, from $5.48 billion, or $3,333 per share, in the comparable quarter the previous year.

Quarterly operating profit fell 6 percent to $4.38billion, or $2,665 per share, from $4.67 billion, or $2,843 pershare.

Analysts on average had forecast operating profit of $2,716.60 per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Book value per share, which reflects assets minus liabilities and which Buffett considers a good yardstick for Berkshire's intrinsic worth, was $172,108 at the end of the year, up 5 percent from three months earlier.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by David Gregorio)