• Fourth-quarter net income of $890 million, or $0.79 per diluted share
• Fourth-quarter net revenue increase of 4%, to $2.5 billion
• Fourth-quarter gross dollar volume up 12% and purchase volume up 12%

MasterCard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) today announced financial results for the fourth quarter of 2015. The company reported net income of $890 million, an increase of 11%, or 18% after adjusting for currency, and earnings per diluted share of $0.79, up 14%, or 22% when adjusted for currency, versus the year-ago period. Acquisitions had a $0.03 dilutive impact on earnings per diluted share in the quarter.

Net revenue for the fourth quarter of 2015 was $2.5 billion, a 4% increase versus the same period in 2014. Adjusted for currency, net revenue increased 9%. Net revenue growth was driven by the impact of the following:

• A 12% increase in gross dollar volume, on a local currency basis, to $1.2 trillion;
• An increase in processed transactions of 12%, to 13.0 billion; and
• An increase in cross-border volumes of 12%.

These factors were partially offset by an increase in rebates and incentives, primarily due to new and renewed agreements and increased volumes. Acquisitions contributed 2 percentage points to total net revenue growth.

Worldwide purchase volume during the quarter was up 12% on a local currency basis versus the fourth quarter of 2014, to $883 billion. As of December 31, 2015, the company’s customers had issued 2.3 billion MasterCard and Maestro-branded cards.

“Despite a challenging economy, we were able to deliver solid results for the quarter and the full year in 2015,” said Ajay Banga, president and CEO, MasterCard. “Entering 2016, while uncertainty in the global economy persists, the fundamentals of our business and our approach remain unchanged. We continue to be laser focused on our strategy to lead payment innovation in an increasingly digital world with solutions such as MasterPass, while growing the use of electronic payments through our products, partnerships and increased acceptance at the point-of-sale.”

Total operating expenses increased 1%, or 4% when adjusted for currency, to $1.4 billion during the fourth quarter of 2015 compared to the same period in 2014. The increase was primarily due to continued investments to support strategic initiatives, as well as the impact of acquisitions, which contributed 4 percentage points of the FX-adjusted growth, partially offset by ongoing cost management initiatives.

Operating income for the fourth quarter of 2015 increased 9%, or 17% adjusted for currency, versus the year-ago period. The company delivered an operating margin of 44.0%.

MasterCard reported other expense of $82 million in the fourth quarter of 2015 versus $11 million in the fourth quarter of 2014. The change was mainly driven by impairment charges on certain investments and by higher interest expense related to the company’s Euro debt offering in November 2015, partially offset by tax reserve adjustments and investment gains.

MasterCard’s effective tax rate was 13.1% in the fourth quarter of 2015, versus a rate of 20.3% in the comparable period in 2014. The decrease was primarily due to the recognition of discrete tax benefits in the fourth quarter of 2015 resulting from the impact of settlements with tax authorities during the quarter.

During the fourth quarter of 2015, MasterCard repurchased approximately 8 million shares of Class A common stock at a cost of $793 million. Quarter-to-date through January 22nd, the company repurchased an additional 3.1 million shares at a cost of $283 million, with $4.2 billion remaining under current repurchase program authorizations.

Full-Year 2015 Results

For the full-year 2015, excluding special items, MasterCard reported net income of $3.9 billion, an increase of 8%, or 15% after adjusting for currency, versus the year-ago period and earnings per diluted share of $3.43, up 11%, or 18% after adjusting for currency compared to the same period in 2014. The special items included after-tax charges of $44 million related to a U.K. merchant litigation settlement and $50 million related to the termination of the U.S. employee pension plan, recorded in the second and third quarters of 2015, respectively. Including the special items, net income was $3.8 billion and earnings per diluted share was $3.35. Acquisitions had an $0.11 dilutive impact on earnings per diluted share in the full-year period.

Net revenue for the full-year 2015 was $9.7 billion, an increase of 2%, or 8% after adjusting for currency, versus the same period in 2014. Gross dollar volume growth of 13%, transaction processing growth of 12% and cross-border volume growth of 16% contributed to the net revenue growth in the full-year period. These factors were partially offset by an increase in rebates and incentives. Acquisitions contributed 2 percentage points to total net revenue growth.

Excluding the special items, total operating expenses increased 3%, or 6% after adjusting for currency, to $4.4 billion for the full-year 2015, compared to the same period in 2014. The increase was primarily due to continued investments to support strategic initiatives as well as the impact of acquisitions, which contributed 6 percentage points of the FX-adjusted growth, partially offset by ongoing cost management initiatives and foreign exchange gains. Including the special items, total operating expenses increased 6%, or 10% after adjusting for currency, from the year-ago period.

Excluding the special items, operating income was $5.2 billion, an increase of 2% for full-year 2015 versus the same period in 2014, or an increase of 10% after adjusting for currency. The company delivered an operating margin of 54.0%.

MasterCard reported other expense of $120 million for the full-year 2015 versus $27 million compared to the same period in 2014. The change was mainly driven by impairment charges on certain investments and by higher interest expense resulting from debt issued in 2014 and 2015.

MasterCard’s effective tax rate was 23.4% for full-year 2015 versus a rate of 28.8% in the same period in 2014, excluding the special items. The decrease was primarily due to the recognition of discrete tax benefits in 2015 resulting from the impact of settlements with tax authorities, the recognition of a U.S. foreign tax credit and a more favorable geographic mix of taxable earnings.

Fourth-Quarter Financial Results Conference Call Details

At 9:00 a.m. ET today, the company will host a conference call to discuss its fourth-quarter financial results.

The dial-in information for this call is 866-393-4306 (within the U.S.) and 734-385-2616 (outside the U.S.), and the passcode is 12827852. A replay of the call will be available for 30 days and can be accessed by dialing 855-859-2056 (within the U.S.) and 404-537-3406 (outside the U.S.), and using passcode 12827852.

This call can also be accessed through the Investor Relations section of the company’s website at www.mastercard.com/investor.

Non-GAAP Financial Information

The company has presented certain financial data that are considered non-GAAP financial measures that are reconciled to their most directly comparable GAAP measures in the accompanying tables.

The presentation of growth rates adjusted for currency represent a non-GAAP measure and are calculated by remeasuring the prior period’s results using the current period’s exchange rates.

About MasterCard Incorporated

MasterCard (NYSE:MA), www.mastercard.com, is a technology company in the global payments industry. We operate the world’s fastest payments processing network, connecting consumers, financial institutions, merchants, governments and businesses in more than 210 countries and territories. MasterCard’s products and solutions make everyday commerce activities – such as shopping, traveling, running a business and managing finances – easier, more secure and more efficient for everyone. Follow us on Twitter @MasterCardNews, join the discussion on the Beyond the Transaction Blog and subscribe for the latest news on the Engagement Bureau.

Forward-Looking Statements

Statements in this press release which are not historical facts, including statements about MasterCard’s plans, strategies, beliefs and expectations, are forward-looking and subject to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made. Accordingly, except for the company’s ongoing obligations under the U.S. federal securities laws, the company does not intend to update or otherwise revise the forward-looking information to reflect actual results of operations, changes in financial condition, changes in estimates, expectations or assumptions, changes in general economic or industry conditions or other circumstances arising and/or existing since the preparation of this press release or to reflect the occurrence of any unanticipated events. Such forward-looking statements include, without limitation, statements related to our business performance and the execution of our strategy to lead payment innovation and grow electronic payments use.

Actual results may differ materially from such forward-looking statements for a number of reasons, including those set forth in the company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including the company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2014, and subsequent reports on Forms 10-Q and 8-K, as well as reasons including difficulties, delays or the inability of the company to achieve its strategic initiatives set forth above. Factors other than those listed above could also cause the company’s results to differ materially from expected results.