Visa profit rises 30 percent; authorizes $1.75 billion buyback

REUTERS - Visa Inc's first-quarter profit jumped 30 percent, and the world's largest credit- and debit-card network authorized a new $1.75 billion share repurchase program.

The new share buyback program brings the total outstanding authorization to about $2.9 billion.

The company's profit rose to $1.3 billion, or $1.93 per Class A share, from $1.0 billion, or $1.49 per Class A share, a year earlier.

Total operating revenue rose 12 percent to $2.8 billion.

Analysts on average expected earnings of $1.79 per share on revenue of $2.82 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Payment volumes grew 9 percent to $1.1 trillion, while processed transactions grew 4 percent.

"Visa again delivered a strong quarter of revenue and earnings driven by success across our global franchise," Chief Executive Charlie Scharf said in a statement.

Scharf, a former head of JPMorgan Chase & Co's retail financial services division, took over as chief executive in November.

The company said it expects annual net revenue growth in the low double-digits and adjusted Class A earnings per share growth in the high-teens for 2013.

Visa expects an annual operating margin of about 60 percent.

(Reporting by Jochelle Mendonca; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)