MasterCard Reports Profit, Sales Growth

By Chelsey Dulaney 

Payment-card network MasterCard Inc. on Friday reported an 11% increase in fourth-quarter profit, as its revenue and volumes rose.

Shares ticked up 0.7% to $84 a share in premarket trading

The Purchase, N.Y.-based company's results recently have been pressured across the world from a strong U.S. dollar, particularly when compared with the euro and the Brazilian real. Slower growth in emerging markets and worsening economic conditions in Venezuela have also impacted results.

"Entering 2016, while uncertainty in the global economy persists, the fundamentals of our business and our approach remain unchange," said Chief Executive Ajay Banga in a news release.

For the period ended Dec. 31, the company posted earnings of $890 million, or 79 cents a share, compared with $801 million, or 69 cents a share, a year earlier.

Revenue grew 4.4% to $2.52 billion, or 9% excluding currency impacts. Analysts had projected 69 cents a share in profit and $2.55 billion in revenue, according to Thomson Reuters.

The company said an increase in rebates and incentives ate into revenue, while acquisitions added 2 percentage points to revenue growth.

Like rival Visa Inc., MasterCard processes electronic payments on its network, but doesn't collect interest or set interest rates.

In the latest quarter, purchase volume grew 12%, on a constant-currency basis, to $883 billion. Both processed transactions and cross-border volumes grew 12%.

Gross dollar volume grew 12%, in terms of local currency, to $1.2 trillion.

Write to Chelsey Dulaney at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 29, 2016 08:48 ET (13:48 GMT)

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