Visa Inc., the credit card company, said Wednesday that its first-quarter profit rose 35 percent as consumers continued their shift away from cash toward electronic payments.

The results beat Wall Street expectations. Visa also reiterated its earnings outlook for the year, despite expectations of tougher economic conditions in coming months.

Visa, the world’s largest electronic payment network, reported net income of $574 million, or 74 cents a share, for the three months that ended Dec. 31. That was up from $424 million a year earlier, when Visa was privately held before its initial public offering last March.

Excluding one-time charges and gains, Visa earned $599 million, or 78 cents a share, in the latest quarter.