Key Quotes from 1973 Shareholder Letter

1. "During 1973, Jack Ringwalt retired as President of National Indemnity Company after an absolutely brilliant record since founding the business in 1940. He was succeeded by Phil Liesche who, fortunately for us, possesses the same underwriting and managerial philosophy that worked so well for Jack."

2. "We had significant unrealized depreciation — over $12 million — in our common stock holdings at year-end. Nevertheless, we believe that our common stock portfolio at cost represents good value in terms of intrinsic business worth. In spite of the large unrealized loss at year-end, we would expect satisfactory results from the portfolio over the longer term."

3. "The textile business has been highly cyclical and price controls may have served to cut down some of the hills while still leaving us with the inevitable valleys."

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Source: Full Letter