Visa’s third-quarter profit beats expectations

NEW YORK — Payment processing giant Visa said its fiscal third-quarter profit rose sharply from a year earlier, following its purchase of Visa Europe.

The San Francisco-based company earned US$2.06 billion in the period ending June 30, or 87 cents a share, compared with a profit of $412 million, or 12 cents per share, in the same period a year ago. Last year’s results included a one-time restructuring charge tied into Visa’s purchase and integration of Visa Europe.

The results beat the expectation of analysts, who, according to Factset, had been looking for Visa to earn 81 cents a share.

Visa has been benefiting from its $23-billion purchase of Visa Europe in June 2016, which brought all operators of the Visa payment network under one company. It also was helped by replacing American Express as the payment processor for Costco, the U.S.’S largest warehouse store chain.

Visa processed $1.86 trillion on its network in the quarter, the company said, which is up 38 per cent from a year earlier. Payments processed in the U.S., which is Visa’s largest market, were up 12 per cent.

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS