MasterCard records second quarter net loss

The company reported net income of $101 million, or $0.74 per share, excluding special items, and a net loss of $310 million, or $2.30 per share, including special items.

Net revenue for the quarter was $846 million, a 9.7% increase versus the same period in 2005. Currency fluctuations had a negligible impact on revenue growth for the quarter.

Fueling the higher revenue in the second quarter was growth in MasterCard's gross dollar volume (GDV), which increased 16.4%, on a local currency basis, to $485 billion; a 17.7% increase in the number of transactions processed; and a restructuring of cross-border transaction fees which was implemented in April 2006. Worldwide purchase volume rose 17.5%, on a local currency basis, during the quarter to $351 billion driven by increased cardholder spending on a growing number of MasterCard cards. As expected, significant rebates and incentives in the quarter, which included a large debit portfolio conversion from a competitive brand, partially offset gross revenue growth. As of June 30, 2006, the company's customer banks had issued 796 million MasterCard cards, an increase of 11.2% percent over the same period in 2005.

"Our solid operational performance for the quarter demonstrates that through our strengths as a franchisor, processor and advisor, we are successfully delivering on our commitment to bring our customers innovative products and value-added services to help them enhance the profitability of their payments businesses," said Robert W. Selander, MasterCard president and chief executive officer.

"Our customers around the world are increasingly recognizing MasterCard as their brand of choice because of the strength of our unified global organization, advanced transaction processing network, powerful brand and our ability to provide them with unique payment solutions," he said. "This quarter's strong performance in emerging markets such as our Latin America and South Asia/Middle East Africa regions illustrates our ability to displace paper-based forms of payment by bringing the benefits of electronic payments to every corner of the world."