Western Union (WU) Tops Q1 EPS by 3c, Beat on Revenues

Western Union (NYSE: WU) reported Q1 EPS of $0.45, $0.03 better than the analyst estimate of $0.42. Revenue for the quarter came in at $1.4 billion versus the consensus estimate of $1.36 billion.

In the first quarter, the Company generated revenue of $1.4 billion, which increased 7% compared to the prior year, or 5% on a constant currency basis. The revenue increase was driven by strong growth in the consumer money transfer business.

“We were able to sustain the growth momentum generated at the end of 2017,” said president and chief executive officer Hikmet Ersek. “Our digital money transfer business posted another impressive quarter, with westernunion.com delivering a 23% revenue increase.”

Ersek added, “The positive traction in our core business helps enable us to pursue new customer segments in cross-border money movement.”

GAAP earnings per share in the quarter was $0.46 compared to $0.33 in the prior year period. On an adjusted basis, earnings per share was $0.45 compared to $0.35 in the prior year period. The increase in earnings per share was primarily due to revenue growth, a lower effective tax rate and fewer shares outstanding compared to the first quarter of 2017.

Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Raj Agrawal stated, “We delivered strong revenue growth, profitability, and cash flow in the first quarter and are solidly on track to meet our full year targets.”

For earnings history and earnings-related data on Western Union (WU) click here.

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