Discover Financial Services has reported a net income allocated to common stockholders of $705m for the first quarter of 2019, an increase of 9% compared to $646m in the year ago period.
For the quarter ended 31 March 2019, the company’s revenue net of interest expense totalled $2.76bn as against $2.57n in the first quarter of 2018.
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Net interest income increased $205m, or 10%, from the prior year. Net interest margin was 10.46%, up 23 basis points versus the prior year.
Card yield was 13.42%, an increase of 57 basis points from the prior year. Interest expense as a percent of total loans increased 59 basis points from the prior year, the company said in its earnings statement.
The card company’s credit card loans grew 8% to $70.8bn during the quarter.
Discover Financial’s payment services division reported a pre-tax income of $51m, an increase of $6m from the compared to last year.
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By GlobalDataPayment Services transaction dollar volume grew 9% year-on-year to $61bn, while PULSE transaction dollar rose 9% year-over-year. Network Partners volume increased by 24% from the prior year driven by AribaPay.
Commenting on the results, Discover CEO and president Roger Hochschild said: “Once again, this quarter showed the power of the Discover business model to deliver outstanding shareholder returns. Our solid execution on growth initiatives, effective credit risk management and operating efficiency drove strong profitability.
“The Discover brand and our reputation for outstanding service continue to resonate with our customers and drive competitive differentiation.”
