MasterCard profit beats estimates as card usage rises

Shares of the world's second-largest debit and credit card company rose 2 percent in premarket trading on Thursday.

MasterCard's net income rose to $1.02 billion, or 87 cents per share, in the third quarter ended Sept. 30 from $879 million, or 73 cents per share, a year earlier.

Net revenue rose 12.8 percent to $2.5 billion.

Analysts on average had expected earnings of 78 cents per share on revenue of $2.45 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

"We delivered strong results for the quarter, reporting double-digit revenue and net income growth, despite a mixed economic environment," Chief Executive Ajay Banga said in a statement.

Worldwide purchase volume, or the total amount of purchases made with MasterCard-branded cards, increased 11 percent to $843 billion in local currency terms.

The company said U.S. purchase volume rose 8.2 percent to $288 billion.

Consumer confidence in the third quarter improved globally as concerns about the economy and job prospects eased, according to a survey by global information company Nielsen. U.S. consumer confidence also rose in August to its highest level since October 2007.

Bigger rival Visa Inc reported a better-than-expected adjusted quarterly profit on Wednesday.

MasterCard's shares were trading at $77.30 before the bell.

Up to Wednesday's close of $75.99, the shares have lost about 9 percent this year, underperforming the S&P 500 Index's about 7 percent rise.

(Reporting by Amrutha Gayathri in Bangalore; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)