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Discover 4Q profit leaps 46 pct as card use rises
December 15, 2011
NEW YORK (AP) — Discover Financial Services says higher spending at the start of the holiday shopping season helped its fourth-quarter profit rise 46 percent.
The Riverwoods, Ill., credit card company says its net income available to common shareholders for the three months ended Nov. 30 was $508 million, or 95 cents per share. Revenue rose 13 percent to $1.81 billion.
Wall Street was expecting profit of 89 cents per share, on $1.8 billion in revenue, according to FactSet.
The results reflected an 8 percent increase in Discover card use. Credit card balances rose 3 percent, while late payments and defaults slid, as customer payment habits continued to improve.
The company says its student loan operations also provided a boost to results.
Discover is increasing its dividend by 67 percent to 10 cents.
(Copyright 2011 Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
