(Reuters) - American Express Co (N:AXP), the world's largest credit card issuer, reported a 10.7 percent rise in fourth-quarter profit as customers in the United States spent more using its cards and the company earned higher net interest income.
Net income rose to $1.45 billion, or $1.39 per share, for the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, from $1.31 billion, or $1.21 per share, a year earlier.
Total revenue, net of interest expense, rose 6.6 percent to $9.11 billion.
The revenue increase included a pre-tax gain of $719 million on the sale of the company's investment in expense software maker Concur Technologies Inc, which Germany's SAP SE (DE:SAPG) bought for about $7.3 billion in September.