Visa Q4 Profit Climbs 18% on Strong Payments Volume; Dividend Raised 16%

Visa Inc. (V) reported Tuesday an 18% rise in fourth-quarter net income to $6.0 billion, or $3.19 per share, up from $5.09 billion, or $2.62 per share, a year earlier, citing growth in payments volume, cross-border transactions and processed transactions. Adjusted net income rose to $6.6 billion, or $3.48 per share, from $5.8 billion, or $2.98 per share. Net revenue increased 13% to $12.14 billion from $10.72 billion. Payments volume grew 9%, cross-border volume rose 14%, and processed transactions climbed 10% to 74.2 billion. GAAP operating expenses increased 7% to $4.9 billion, mainly on higher general and administrative costs. Visa's board also raised the quarterly cash dividend 16% to $0.78 per share, payable December 1 to shareholders of record November 10.