NEW YORK: Payment processing company MasterCard Inc said its adjusted third-quarter profits rose slightly from a year ago, as the company saw solid growth in activity worldwide on its payment network. MasterCard said on Thursday it had net income of $1.03 billion, excluding a one-time $50 million charge tied to the termination of the company’s pension plan. That is up from $1.02 billion in the same period a year ago. Per-share earnings, excluding that one-time charge, were 91 cents per share compared with 87 cents a share a year earlier. Payment volume on MasterCard’s network, a key measure of the company’s business, was up 12.3 per cent to $852 billion in the quarter on a local currency basis.