MasterCard Inc., the second-largest US payments network, reported profit that beat analysts’ estimates as card spending increased.
First-quarter net income fell 6 per cent to $959 million, or 86 cents a share, from $1.02 billion, or 89 cents, a year earlier, the Purchase, New York-based company said Thursday in a statement. The average estimate of 32 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg was for profit of 85 cents a share.
Chief Executive Officer Ajay Banga has been investing in improved technology abroad to counteract the impact of lower gas prices in the US, which hurt domestic spending on the firm’s network. Foreign-exchange headwinds began to moderate in the first three months of the year, fueling cross-border payment volume at MasterCard, which generates roughly 60 per cent of its revenue overseas.
"The year is off to a good start with solid growth in revenue due to strong volume and transaction levels this quarter," Banga, 56, said in the statement.
Visa Inc., the largest payments network, posted fiscal second-quarter profit last week that beat analysts’ estimates as consumer card spending increased. American Express Co., the biggest credit-card issuer by purchases, said first-quarter profit fell 6.5 per cent to $1.43 billion as the company spent more to lure in new customers.
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