Visa Inc, the world`s largest credit and debit card company, reported a better-than-expected quarterly profit on Thursday as a strengthening U.S. job market and cheaper gasoline prices encouraged people to spend.
Visa`s net income rose to $1.57 billion, or $2.53 per Class A share, in the quarter ended Dec. 31 from $1.41 billion, or $2.20 per Class A share, a year earlier.
Total operating revenue increased 7 percent to $3.38 billion.
Analysts on average had expected earnings of $2.49 per share on revenue of $3.34 billion for the company`s first fiscal quarter, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Visa`s shares were up 4.4 percent at $258.95 in extended trading on Thursday.
The company, a Dow Jones Industrial Average component, recorded cross-border volume growth of 8 percent on a constant dollar basis, down from 12 percent in the year-earlier quarter.
Total volume increased to $1.90 trillion from $1.84 trillion, helped by a better holiday shopping season in the United States.
Visa earns money from both the volume and value of transactions using its cards.
Up to Thursday`s close, Visa`s shares had gained about 15.5 percent since it last reported earnings on Oct. 29.
