Mastercard profits jump more than a third as easing Covid restrictions boost spending
Mastercard beat expectations and posted a 36 per cent rise in profits in the second quarter, buoyed by an overall increase in spending as vaccine rollouts accelerated, lockdowns lifted and travel picked up.
Adjusted net income rose 36 per cent to $1.9bn from $1.4bn in the same period last year. Corresponding earnings per share reached $1.95, from $1.36 a year earlier.
This exceeded average analyst expectations of $1.75 earnings per share, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.
A resumption of international travel drove Mastercard’s cross-border volumes – which chart spending beyond the card’s country of issue – up 58 per cent on a local currency basis.
This rise was compared to the same period last year, when ongoing lockdowns drove cross-border volumes down 45 per cent.
“International travel is still in the early stages of recovery and represents additional upside potential,” said Mastercard CEO Michael Miebach.
Mastercard completed its $850m acquisition of digital identity firm Ekata last month, as the pandemic accelerated the need for remote fraud prevention and security checks.
“We continue to focus on diversifying our business and investing for sustained long-term growth. With the closing of the Ekata acquisition, we are excited to have advanced our digital identity capabilities and value delivered to our customers,” Miebach said.
The card company’s shares were up 1.28 per cent on the news in pre-market trading on Thursday.