Visa's net profit rises 26% in 1st Qtr

SAO PAULO-the Visa's net profit advanced 26% in the first quarter, to $ 1.6 billion ($ 2.52 per share), from $ 1.27 billion (US $ 1.92 per share) in the same period last year. Excluding extraordinary items as tax benefits, adjusted profit stood at $ 2.20 per share. The company's revenue increased by 6.9 percent in the period, to $ 3.2 billion.
The results slightly exceeded analysts ' expectations, which had expected earnings per share of $ 2.18 and revenue of $ 3.19 billion. Payments volume rose 12 percent in the quarter ended March, reaching a total of $ 1.1 trillion. Visa's action closed the traditional trading with high of 0.28%, but fell 0.94 percent in after hours. With information from Dow Jones Newswires.