PanARMENIAN.Net

MasterCard Inc net profit totaled $367 million in 2009 first quarter
02.05.2009 13:15 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ MasterCard Inc posted better-than-expected quarterly
earnings on Friday but said revenue growth this year will fall short
of its targets, sending its shares down 7 percent in afternoon
trading.

The world’s second-largest credit card network said lower expenses and
increased fees helped first-quarter results.

Net income fell 18 percent to $367 million, or $2.80 per share, from
$447 million, or $3.37 per share, a year earlier. But the results beat
Wall Street expectations.

Analysts, on average, forecast earnings of $2.62 per share, according
to Reuters Estimates.

MasterCard shares climbed to a seven-month high on Thursday, a day
after Visa released its earnings. MasterCard is partially insulated
from the credit crisis because it processes transactions rather than
lends funds. But the company has seen a slowdown in the growth of
revenue and transaction volumes as battered consumers used their
credit cards less.

MasterCard’s first-quarter U.S. credit volume fell 17.2 percent,
compared to an 11.4 percent decline last quarter, while U.S. debit
volume grew 5.6 percent, in line with the levels of the previous
quarter.

Credit and charge programs accounted for 67 percent of the gross
dollar volume of MasterCard, while the remaining 33 percent was
related to debit cards.

In addition, mounting pressure from Washington for credit card
companies to slash fees and interest rates could takes its toll on
card networks, as it could slow growth in an industry that developed
rapidly before the financial crisis. MasterCard shares were down 7.8
percent at $169.15 in afternoon trading on the New York Stock
Exchange. The shares are up 25 percent this year, Reuters reported.