Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway swung back into the black in the second quarter, helped by gains on derivatives and the shares in blue-chips such as Goldman Sachs and General Electric that it bought on favourable terms in the midst of the financial crisis.

After reporting a $1.5bn loss in the first three months of the year – its first period in the red since 2001 – Berkshire recorded a $3.3bn profit in the second quarter as investment gains offset a fall in the earnings of its sprawling portfolio of companies.