Visa Inc reported a higher-than-expected quarterly profit, helped by a rise in payments volume and transactions processed on its network, and announced a $5 billion share buyback program. The company's payments volume rose 10.2 percent to $1.35 trillion on a constant dollar basis in the quarter ended June 30, while the number of processed transactions grew 10 percent to 19.8 billion. Cross-border volumes grew 5 percent during the quarter.
"While little has changed in the global economic environment, and cross-border commerce continues to be challenged by a strong US dollar, domestic consumer spend across the globe remains strong and resilient," Chief Executive Charlie Scharf said in a statement. However, the company's third-quarter profit was weighed down by costs related to the acquisition of Visa Europe. Visa completed its acquisition of Visa Europe last month in a deal initially valued at as much as $23.3 billion. Visa's net income fell to $412 million, or 17 cents per Class A share, from $1.69 billion, or 69 cents per Class A share, a year earlier. Excluding costs related to Visa Europe, the company reported an adjusted profit of 69 cents per share. Total operating revenue rose 3.2 percent to $3.63 billion.