Washington, American business tycoon Warren Buffett's company, Berkshire Hathaway Inc. has reported a net loss of nearly $50 billion in the first quarter amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The net loss totalled to $49.75 billion in the first quarter, or $30,653 dollars per Class A share and $20.44 per Class B share, compared with a net earning of $21.66 billion a year ago, Xinhua news agency quoted Berkshire as saying in a statement on Saturday.

The first-quarter operating earnings rose to $5.87 billion from $5.55 billion dollars, it added.

"As efforts to contain the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated in the second half of March and continued through April, most of our businesses were negatively affected, with the effects to date ranging from relatively minor to severe," the statement said.

Berkshire has taken "necessary" actions to mitigate the economic losses due to lower "consumer demand for products and services", it said, adding that the company could not "reliably predict" when its many businesses would return to normal or when consumers would resume their former buying habits.

Berkshire, a US multinational conglomerate holding company, is based in Omaha, Nebraska.