American Express has increased revenue and profits despite seeing a drop in travel commissions and fees.
The US-based credit card giant saw total revenue rise by 4 per cent to $7.9 billion for the first three months of 2013, while net profit increased by 2 per cent to $1.28 billion.
Global Commercial Services, which includes Amex’s business travel division, recorded a 1 per cent rise in revenue to $1.2 billion during the quarter which produced a net profit of $191 million (up 8 per cent year-on-year).
Amex said that this improved performance reflected “increased spending by corporate card members, partially offset by lower travel commissions and fees”.
The company is planning to cut staffing levels at its business travel division as more transactions are booked through online and automated tools.
Amex CEO Kenneth Chenault said: “We are off to a strong start in 2013, thanks to our ability to grow revenue in a slow growth economy, control expenses and maintain a strong balance sheet.
“We made good headway throughout the business and continue to see very encouraging customer response to initiatives like our reloadable prepaid products and loyalty marketing initiatives that are expanding our footprint into newer segments of the market.
“Progress on cost control initiatives allowed us to continue to make investments to grow the business, while holding operating expenses well within our target of less than 3 per cent annual growth for the next two years.”