MasterCard Inc. (NYSE: MA) reported Tuesday that its first-quarter net income rose to $562 million, or $4.29 a share, from $455 million, or $3.46 a share, in the year-earlier quarter. Revenue climbed 15% to $1.5 billion. Analysts, on average, had expected the company to report earnings of $4.08 a share on revenue of $1.45 billion.
"We had a strong start to 2011 despite the hardships experienced by many consumers and businesses due to natural disasters and political turmoil in several markets. Our solid volume and processed transaction growth helped to drive a double-digit revenue increase. This growth is reflective of the strong fundamentals and globality of our business," said Ajay Banga, MasterCard president and chief executive officer.
"We continue to launch new products, enter new geographies and open new acceptance channels. We launched Travelex Cash Passport in Brazil and South Africa and recently completed our acquisition of the Card Program Management assets of Travelex, allowing us to further build our global prepaid presence. During the quarter, we also signed a long-term debit renewal with Poste Italiane, one of our largest debit issuers in Europe."
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