Mastercard profit slumps on one-time charge related to new tax law

(Reuters) - Mastercard Inc, the world's second-biggest payments network, reported a 76 percent drop in quarterly profit on Thursday, hurt by a one-time charge of $981 million related to changes to U.S. tax laws.

Net income fell to $227 million, or 21 cents per share, in the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, from $933 million, or 86 cents per share, a year earlier. (http://mstr.cd/2nwXaUZ)

Excluding items, the company earned $1.14 per share.

Analysts on average had expected a profit of $1.12 per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. It was not immediately clear if the numbers were comparable.

Net revenue rose to $3.31 billion from $2.76 billion.

 

(Reporting By Aparajita Saxena in Bengaluru; Editing by Martina D'Couto)