MasterCard Inc.’s profit leapt 23.5%, to $562 million in the first quarter from $455 million a year earlier, driven in part by a rise in payments. The card brand’s revenue rose 14.5%, to $1.5 billion from $1.31 billion.
Transaction volume grew even against negative factors such as fluctuations in foreign currency and natural disasters overseas, MasterCard said.
The number of U.S. MasterCard transactions rose 7%, to 3.65 billion from 3.41 billion. Sales volume rose 7.2%, to $208 billion from 194 billion.
Outside the U.S., transaction volume rose 15.8%, to 4.17 billion from 3.6 billion. Sales volume rose 20.8%, to $337 billion from 279 billion.
There were 988 million MasterCard and Maestro-branded cards issued globally by the end of March, up 4.7% from 944 million a year earlier.
“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,” Ajay Banga, MasterCard president and chief executive, said in a press release. “This growth is reflective of the strong fundamentals and globally of our business.”
