Fourth-quarter profit at American Express doubled from the same period the year before owing to consumer spending and bills paid on time, company said on Thursday.

Net income was $1.3 billion compared with $637 million a year earlier, the company said in a statement. The year-ago quarter included a restructuring charge and other expenses.

"Results reflected a healthy increase in billed business in the U.S. and internationally," Chenault, 62, said in the statement. "We ended the year on a strong note, with cardmember spending up 8 per cent despite mixed reports during the holiday shopping season."

Total revenue was up 5 per cent to $8.5 billion in the quarter from $8.1 billion a year ago.

American Express is the biggest credit-card issuer by purchases and was the second-best performer in the Dow Jones Industrial Average last year, climbing 58 per cent. It is benefiting from a pickup in household wealth in the segment of the population it serves.

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