SAO PAULO, March 18 (Reuters) - Brazilian payments firm

StoneCo ( STNE ) reported on Monday a 177% increase in its

fourth-quarter adjusted net profit from a year earlier.

The firm, which also provides software and banking services,

posted a 563.8 million real ($112.23 million) adjusted net

profit for the quarter ended in December.

Analysts polled by LSEG were expecting an adjusted net

profit of 483 million reais for the period.