Visa 3Q Net Up 73% On IPO Gain; Volume Drops 5%

Article - WSJ.com

BOSTON (Dow Jones)--Visa Inc.'s (V) fiscal third-quarter profit soared 73% from a year ago, as investment income and reduced expenses offset a slowdown in consumer spending.

In 4 p.m. New York Stock Exchange composite trading on Wednesday, the company's shares were at $66.78.On the heels of the results, investors pushed the stock down to $66 in after-hours trading.

The San Francisco-based company also reiterated its view that net revenue growth this year will be in the high single digits and at the lower end of the 11% to 15% range in 2010. The company said it expected earnings per share to grow at more than 20% through 2010 and predicted annual free cash flow of over $1 billion during this period.

Visa reported net income in the third quarter of $729 million, or 97 cents a class A common share, compared with $422 million, or 51 cents per class A common share, a year earlier. Excluding a one-time gain related to the sale of an equity stake through an initial public offering, net income totaled $507 million, or 67 cents per class A common share.

Its results beat analysts' estimates of net income of 64 cents a class A common share, according to Thomson Reuters.

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