MasterCard profit rises 82 percent

updated 10:48 a.m. ET Nov. 1, 2006

NEW YORK - MasterCard Inc., owner of the nation’s second-largest credit card brand, said Wednesday its third-quarter profit climbed 82 percent, reflecting increased revenue and a higher number of purchases worldwide.

The company said it earned $193 million, or $1.42 per share, for the three months ended Sept. 30 versus $106.1 million, or the equivalent of 79 cents a share, a year earlier when MasterCard was a private entity owned by the nation’s largest banks.

Revenue rose 13.9 percent to $902 million from $791.6 million a year ago.

The latest results beat the consensus estimate of $1.07 in earnings per share on $871.2 million in revenue, according to a Thomson Financial poll.

Since MasterCard completed an initial public offering in May, rival Visa USA announced that it too will go public.

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