MasterCard , the world's No. 2 debit and credit card company, said worldwide purchase volume increased 12.1 per cent to $858 billion in local currency terms during the fourth quarter of 2014, marking a better-than-expected profit for the holiday shopping season.

The company, whose shares were up 4 per cent in premarket trading on Friday, said its cross-border volumes rose 19 per cent.

"Despite a mixed global economy, we delivered solid results for the quarter and for the full year in 2014," Chief Executive Ajay Banga said in a statement.

U.S. retail sales rose 5.5 per cent from the day after Thanksgiving through Christmas Eve as demand for women's apparel, jewellery and casual dining offset sluggish sales of electronics, MasterCard said in December.

The company's net income rose to $801 million, or 69 cents per share, in the quarter ended Dec. 31 from $623 million, or 52 cents per share, a year earlier.

Net revenue rose 14 per cent to $2.42 billion.

Analysts on average had expected earnings of 67 cents per share on revenue of $2.39 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Larger rival Visa Inc (V.N) reported a better-than-expected quarterly profit on Thursday.

Up to Thursday's close of $81.38, MasterCard shares had risen about 5 per cent in the past year. – Reuters