Western Union Expects Q3 Revenue to Decline 15%

In the Western Union’s preliminary third-quarter 2022 results, the company said it will see “macroeconomic softness” for the rest of the year, spurred by global politics and other factors.

Western Union expects third quarter revenue of $1.1 billion to decline 15% on a reported basis compared to last year, primarily due to suspending operations in Russia and Belarus after Russia started the war in Ukraine.

In addition, the company agreed in 2021 to sell its Western Union Business Solutions (WUBS) business to Goldfinch Partners and The Baupost Group for $910 million. There will be three closings, the first one already having occurred on March 1 this year. The next will close on Dec. 1, 2022 for the U.K. operations, and the last, including the EU operations, will probably close in the first quarter of 2023.

Western Union will still record revenues for the EU and U.K. operations, and will pay the buyers some of the profits — so the company says adjusted revenue growth and operating margins will exclude Business Solutions.

The company will release final comprehensive third quarter results on Nov. 1, 2022.

PYMNTS wrote about the WUBS sale earlier this year, writing that the sale will see it rebranded as standalone B2B payments company Convera.

Read more: Western Union Business Solutions Now Convera, Says is Largest Non-Bank Global B2B Payments Platform

The buyers said at the time that WUBS/Convera had a record 2021 and had revenue growth of over 20% and payments volume of $170 billion.

As part of the purchase, ex-Amazon Pay head Patrick Gauthier was appointed Convera CEO. He’d also had leadership roles at PayPal and Visa, and had patents in the payment space.

“At Convera, our purpose is to make global payments so easy that every business around the world can grow with confidence,” he said. “Convera combines the agility of a FinTech with the scale, sophistication, and breadth of capabilities of a global financial institution. We intend to bring innovation, value, and exceptional service to our customers with focused investments in our product offerings, technology, and people.”