NEW YORK -- MasterCard Inc. said Tuesday its third-quarter profit was bolstered by continued cost-cutting measures and an increase in the number of transactions it processed.
However, worldwide purchase volume grew only 0.4 percent on a local currency basis during the quarter, providing further evidence that a global economic recovery is likely to be slow. Volume fell in the U.S.
Its shares edged up $1.85 to $224.50 in premarket trading.
The credit card and global payments processor earned $452.2 million, or $3.45 per share, during the quarter ended Sept. 30. It lost $193.6 million, or $1.48 per share, during the same quarter last year.
Last year's results reflected an $827.5 million pretax charge related to an antitrust litigation settlement.
Adjusting for special items like litigation costs, MasterCard earned $456 million, or $3.48 per share, during the most recent quarter.
Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters, on average, forecast earnings of $2.94 per share on revenue of $1.35 billion. Analysts do not always include special charges in their estimates.
MasterCard's revenue edged up to $1.36 billion from $1.34 billion a year ago.
While purchase volume remained relatively unchanged, the number of transactions MasterCard processed during the quarter jumped 8 percent to 5.8 billion as customers increasingly turn to plastic forms of payments from cash and checks.
The bigger jump in processed transactions than purchase volume indicates customers are spending less on each purchase as concerns about an economic recovery keep spending in check.
Spending fell the most in the U.S., where purchase volume fell 7 percent to $204 billion. Canada was the only other region MasterCard reported a decline in purchase volume.
MasterCard's Asia, Europe and Latin America all reported increases in volume, as foreign economies appear to be recovering slightly than the U.S.
MasterCard again used cost-cutting measures to help boost its profitability. Excluding last year's special legal costs, operating expenses fell 13 percent during the quarter to $685 million. The company, based in Purchase, N.Y., cut costs through a reduction in professional fees and travel expenses.
It also slashed its advertising and marketing expenses by 29 percent to $173.8 million.
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