Mastercard Says Coronavirus May Trim 1Q, 2020 Revenue Growth

   By Stephen Nakrosis 
 

Mastercard Inc. on Monday said year-over-year net revenue growth in the first quarter could be affected by the coronavirus, given its effect on cross-border travel and cross-border e-commerce growth.

Mastercard shares dropped 2.9% to $315.28 in after-hours trading on Monday.

"If the trends we have seen recently -- primarily in our cross-border drivers -- continue through the end of the quarter, year-over-year net revenue growth in the first quarter will be approximately 2-3 percentage points lower than discussed on our January 29, 2020 earnings call," Mastercard said, adding "Under these circumstances, we would expect year-over-year net revenue growth of 9-10% in the first quarter on a currency-neutral basis, excluding acquisitions."

Mastercard had said it was expecting adjusted revenue in 2020 to rise by a percentage in the low teens.

The company also said if the impact of the coronavirus is limited to the first quarter, "we expect that our 2020 annual year-over-year net revenue growth rate would be at the low end of the low-teens range, on a currency-neutral basis, excluding acquisitions."

Mastercard said it has been closely monitoring the situation, and also said: "The fundamentals of our business remain strong, as our switched volume and switched transaction growth remain in-line with our expectations."

--Write to Stephen Nakrosis at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 24, 2020 18:21 ET (23:21 GMT)

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