(MENAFN) American Express CFO, Dan Henry, stated that the company's net income plunged by 47 percent in the fourth quarter, reaching USD637 million, from USD1.2 billion in 2011's same period, reported AP.
Henry attributed the decline to charges related to restructuring costs and other one-time expenses, noting that the restructuring plan involves slashing around 5,400 jobs, mainly from the travel business, in order to lower costs and put the firm in better position to meet demands of customers who are increasingly shifting to online and mobile devices to shop, pay bills and make travel plans.
He added that the rest of the charges were related to American Express' cardholder rewards program and for reimbursements of interest and fees to customers.
Meanwhile, quarterly revenue rose 5 percent to USD8.14 billion.
The New York-based firm's revenue at its US card services division went up 4 percent to USD4.1 billion, whereas net interest income increased 7 percent.
The card issuer's provision for losses surged 56 percent to USD638 million, and expenses jumped 18 percent to USD6.6 billion due to a rise in cardholder rewards.
It is worth noting that American Express net income for full 2012 went down 9 percent to USD4.48 billion, compared with USD4.94 billion a year ago, while revenue edged up 5 percent to USD31.6 billion from almost USD30 billion.
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