Boston, MA 04/28/2014 (wallstreetpr) – The biggestlet-down in 1Q2014 was Mastercard Inc (NYSE:MA), whose stock price dropped by 10.6% and undesirably impacted their performance by 37 basis points. This adverse performance is attributable to results for 4Q2013 coming in below estimates. The company had decided to invest more money in aid of new customers, a move which condensed their earnings. However, the outlook for MasterCard and Visa is optimistic as their volume of business escalates when commercial entities and markets in different countries transition from paper-based systems to digital ones.
Regardless of the drop in stock price and investments made by Mastercard Inc (NYSE:MA), CEO Ajay Bangawas remunerated with $12.4 million in 2013, a 9.6% increase from the year before.
His pay consisted of $1 million as his fixed salary, $4.3 million in stock awards, $4.2 million in options and $2.5 million in non-equity based incentive plans, as per details from a regulatory filing.
The Acquisition Of Pinpoint
Mastercard Inc (NYSE:MA) recently moved to acquire Pinpoint, a company that provides loyalty and reward points in the Asia-Pacific region and happens to have a 35 million-strong customer base for the same. This acquisition is a strategy they’ve employed to expand their market share and to diversify it within emerging markets around the world. It also comes at a period when the company seeks to combatserious competition within its industry.
The industry of international payment services and transactions persists in its efforts to attract many new entrants, given the profitable nature of its business models. MasterCard, however, relies on its ability to use its financial resources to belligerently expand its market share around the world to access higher revenues. The company also depends upon its spotless track record and know-how in the global payment services world to fuel the growth of its revenue and profits.
The particulars regarding the acquisition of Pinpoint have not been revealed, though officials stated that the process would strengthen operations across the Asia Pacific region, after its execution.
Though based in Australia, Pinpointattends to the needs of several markets in Asia, namely Taiwan, Japan, India and China. It assists merchants and financial institutions in these countries with the management of their loyalty and reward programs. Having been founded in 1984, Pinpoint possesses thirty years of experience and expertise in its field. It is that experience which Mastercard Inc (NYSE:MA) believes would hold a lot of promise for its future in the rapidly growing international money transaction business. They presently expect to close the acquisition deal with Pinpoint by 2Q2014.
