MasterCard Q1 net income rises 12%

The company reported net income of $766 million, up 12%, and earnings per diluted share of $6.23, up 16%, in each case versus the year-ago period.

Net revenue for the first quarter of 2013 was $1.9 billion, an 8% increase versus the same period in 2012. Adjusted for currency, net revenue increased 9%. Net revenue growth was driven by the impact of the following:

• A 12% increase in gross dollar volume, on a local currency basis, to $947 billion;
• An increase in cross-border volumes of 16%; and
• An increase in processed transactions of 12%, to 8.7 billion.

These factors were partially offset by an increase in rebates and incentives, primarily due to increased volumes and new and renewed agreements.

Worldwide purchase volume during the quarter was up 10% on a local currency basis versus the first quarter of 2012, to $690 billion. As of March 31, 2013, the company's customers had issued 1.9 billion MasterCard and Maestro-branded cards.

"We are pleased with our first-quarter results as we delivered solid performance that met our expectations despite the mixed global economic environment," said Ajay Banga, MasterCard president and CEO. "Since the start of the year, we have had steady momentum in new business, as well as product innovations. We signed new consumer credit agreements with Bank of America and TD Bank and secured significant wins in our APMEA region with Qantas, South Africa's NedBank, and Japan's Rakuten. We also signed an alliance with the Alibaba Group to explore opportunities in the Chinese market. In addition, we advanced our mobile and digital strategy with the commercial launch of MasterPass."

Total operating expenses increased 6%, to $799 million, during the first quarter of 2013 compared to the same period in 2012. The increase was primarily driven by higher personnel expenses.

Operating income for the first quarter of 2013 increased 11% over the year-ago periodd-ago period and the company delivered an operating margin of 58.1%.

MasterCard's effective tax rate was 30.5% in the first quarter of 2013, versus a rate of 31.8% in the comparable period in 2012. The decrease was primarily due to a more favorable geographic mix of earnings and a benefit from a deduction related to the company's authorization software.

During the first quarter of 2013, MasterCard repurchased approximately 1,480,000 shares of Class A common stock at a cost of approximately $766 million. Quarter-to-date through April 25, the company repurchased an additional 341,500 shares at a cost of approximately $182 million, with $1.7 billion remaining under the current repurchase program authorization.