Visa raises outlook as card spending accelerates

Visa Inc reported a quarterly profit that beat Wall Street estimates as customers spent more using its cards and the world's largest credit and debit card network raised its outlook for full-year revenue and earnings.

 

Visa also authorized a new $1.5 billion share buyback program, sending its shares up 2 percent in after-hours trading.

 

The company reported a net profit of $1.23 billion, or $1.88 per Class A share, for the third quarter compared with a net loss of $1.84 billion, or $2.74 per share, a year earlier.

 

The year-earlier quarter included a $4.1 billion litigation provision to cover costs associated with a settlement with U.S. retailers over the fixing of card fees.

 

Operating revenue rose 17 percent to $3.00 billion, while payment volume increased 13 percent to $1.1 trillion.

 

Analysts on average had expected Visa to earn $1.79 per share on revenue of $2.89 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

 

Visa shares, which closed at $186.75 on Wednesday, rose to$191.00 in after-market trading.  — Reuters