PURCHASE, N.Y. – MasterCard yesterday said it lost $747 million, or $5.74 a share, in the second quarter due to a $1 billion after-tax charge related to antitrust settlement with American Express.
The AmEx settlement pushed MasterCard into the red for the first six months of the year to the tune of $300 million, or $2.29 a share.
The AmEx payment, which settles claims that MasterCard’s bylaw preventing issuers from issuing AmEx cards, amounted to a $1.65 billion before-tax charge, which equates to approximately $1 billion on an after-tax basis for the year.
Excluding the charge, the credit card giant's profit rose 9% for the second quarter, while sales jumped 25% on increased spending.
In the same period last year, MasterCard earned $252.3 million, or $1.85 a share, including the effects of $3.4 million set aside for a separate antitrust settlement and $90 million in income from an agreement to discontinue its sponsorship of the World Cup.
MasterCard's revenue surged 25% to $1.2 billion for the second quarter, and by 27% for the first six months of the year to $2.5 billion.
Release of the MasterCard earnings came a day after competitor Visa reported a 41% surge in second-quarter earnings.
