Business Solutions Props Up Western Union In Q2

Western Union announced its Q2 2016 results this week, and according to the firm’s executives, its Business Solutions arm offered a significant hand in boosting earnings.

Reports on Wednesday (Aug. 3) provided a transcript of the earnings call, led by Western Union Senior Vice President of Investor Relations Michael Alan Salop; President, CEO and Director Hikmet Ersek; and CFO and Executive Vice President Rajesh K. Agrawal.

Overall, Western Union reported $1.4 billion in earnings, with performance amounting to “another solid quarter,” according to Ersek.

“While international markets are mixed, our U.S. money transfer business continued to provide steady performance, helping drive good profitability and cash flow,” the CEO and president said in a statement.

Revenue levels for the company increased 3 percent on a constant currency basis, but its Business Solutions operations surpassed that figure with a 6 percent increase in revenues (also on a constant currency basis). According to Western Union, the success was driven by growth across Europe. Revenue for Q2 at Western Union Business Solutions hit $100.8 million, up from $97.6 million in Q2 2015, according to company data.

“U.K. is an important market for both Business Solutions and our consumer money transfer business, and the country represented almost 7 percent of total company revenues last year,” Ersek said in an earnings call in referencing any impact from Brexit.

“Overall in the quarter, we saw good growth in the U.K. B2B business and the C2C business increased as well in constant currency terms,” the executive continued. “Longer term, the impact of Brexit is still uncertain as we, like others, must wait for the U.K. and the European Union to negotiate exit agreements.”

But its Business Solutions arm isn’t invincible. The firm pointed to foreign exchange volatility as a particular factor negatively impacting year-on-year performance.