Visa Inc (NYSE: V), the operator of the world's largest payment system, reported that it exceeded its expectations for quarterly profits and said that it expects annual revenue at the upper end of the forecast due to the acquisition of Visa Europe and the expansion of its portfolio in the US.
The company said that the total volume of payments in the second quarter ended March 31increased by 37.2% to $ 1.73 trillion excluding fluctuations in the dollar exchange rate.
The growth in the volume of payments was facilitated by the results of Visa Europe, a former subsidiary, which Visa acquired last June for $ 23 billion.
The volume of payments in the US, the largest Visa market, increased by 11.7% without taking into account the fluctuations in the dollar exchange rate due to the conducting of large contracts and the strengthening of the economy.
Visa also said it expects annual revenue growth at the top of the forecast in the range of 16-18%.
Net income declined in the quarter to $ 430 million, or 18 cents per share of class A, from $ 1.71 billion, or 71 cents per share of class A, a year earlier, reflecting a one-time write-off of $ 1.5 billion related to Visa Europe.
The profit, excluding one-off items, was 86 cents per share of Class A, exceeding the forecast of analysts polled by Reuters at 79 cents.
Net operating revenue rose 23.5% to $ 4.48 billion, while analysts were waiting for $ 4.29 billion.
As for the US stock market as a whole, the main indexes rose on Thursday, while NASDAQ touched a record high thanks to good quarterly results of companies led by American Express.
American Express shares rose 5.9% after the credit card issuer reported a lower-than-expected decline in quarterly earnings.
Dow Jones index added 0.85% to 20,578.71 points, S&P 500 index rose 0.76% to 2,355.84 points, and Nasdaq Composite index rose 0.92% to 5,916.78 points.