Mastercard beats profit estimates on resilient spending

(Reuters) - Mastercard Inc on Thursday reported a better-than-expected profit for the fourth quarter as resilient spending volumes helped the payments company cushion the blow from higher expenses.

Mastercard, which has a bigger exposure to Asia Pacific than peer Visa Inc, benefited from the reopening of borders and pent-up demand for travel in the region, helping it offset the hit from 10% higher costs in the quarter.

"While macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainty persists, consumer spending has been remarkably resilient," Chief Executive Michael Miebach said in a statement. 

Excluding one-time items, the New York-based card company earned $2.65 per share for the three months ended Dec. 31, compared with analysts' average estimate of $2.58 per share, according to Refinitiv IBES data.

Net revenue climbed 12% to $5.8 billion.

(Reporting by Niket Nishant in Bengaluru; Editing by Vinay Dwivedi)