MasterCard beats estimates as card payments grow, shares rise
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In this file photo taken on Nov 15, 2012, an employee stands behind a MasterCard logo during the launch of the international credit card issuer's first ATM transaction in Myanmar, in Yangon. MasterCard's fourth-quarter results topped Wall Street estimates and revenue growth accelerated as more people chose card payments over cash, sending its stock up 4 per cent. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
NEW YORK (REUTERS) - MasterCard's fourth-quarter results topped Wall Street estimates and revenue growth accelerated as more people chose card payments over cash, sending its stock up 4 per cent.
The world's second-largest credit and debit card network earned US$605 million (S$745 million), or US$4.86 per share, in the quarter, up from US$19 million, or 15 US cents per share, a year earlier. The company took a US$495 million litigation charge in the year-ago quarter.
Fourth-quarter revenue rose 10 per cent to US$1.9 billion, the fastest it has grown in three quarters.
Analysts on average expected the company to earn US$4.81 per share, excluding items, on revenue of US$1.89 billion.
