By Chelsey Dulaney
MasterCard Inc. on Wednesday reported in-line adjusted profit
for the second quarter, though revenue growth was slightly weaker
than Wall Street had expected amid foreign-exchange headwinds.
Shares of MasterCard, up 10.5% this year, fell 2.9% in premarket
trading.
The Purchase, N.Y.-based company has warned that its results for
the year would face pressure from the strong U.S. dollar and
weakness in currencies like the euro and the Brazilian real. Lower
gasoline prices in the U.S. have also taken a bite out of consumer
spending, as consumers spend much of the savings at the gas pump to
reduce debt and bolster savings accounts.
"Our business continues to perform well with good transaction
and volume growth, particularly in cross-border, despite the mixed
global economic environment and foreign exchange headwinds," said
Chief Executive Ajay Banga in a news release.
For the period ended June 30, the company posted earnings of
$921 million, or 81 cents a share, compared with $931 million, or
80 cents a share, in the same period a year ago.
The results included a $44 million after-tax charge related to a
U.K. merchant litigation settlement.
Excluding that charge, per-share earnings were 85 cents.
Revenue edged up 1% to $2.39 billion, or 7% excluding currency
impacts.
Analysts had projected 85 cents a share in profit and $2.41
billion in revenue, according to Thomson Reuters.
Operating expenses rose 15% in the quarter to $1.14 billion amid
acquisition costs and higher data processing, advertising and
marketing expenses.
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 $841 billion. Processed transactions
rose 13% to 12 billion, while cross-border volumes grew 17%.
Gross dollar volume rose 13%, in terms of local currency, to
$1.1 trillion.
Growth was offset in part by an increase in rebate and
incentives.
Last week, rival Visa Inc. said profit jumped 25% in its latest
quarter, fueled by double-digit growth in payment volume despite a
similar rise in operating expenses.
Write to Chelsey Dulaney at Chelsey.Dulaney@wsj.com
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