New York — MasterCard says its third-quarter profit swelled as it continued to reduce costs and the number of transactions it processed rose.
However, worldwide purchase volume grew only 0.4 per cent, providing further evidence a global economic recovery is moving slowly.
The credit card and global payments processor earned $452.2-million (U.S.), or $3.45 per share, during the July-September quarter. It lost $193.6-million, or $1.48 per share, a year ago.
MasterCard's revenue totalled $1.36-billion, a 2-per-cent increase from the same quarter last year. Analysts expected earnings of $2.94 per share for the quarter on revenue of $1.35-billion.
Its shares slipped $1.63 to $221.02 in premarket trading.