Western Union (NYSE: WU) reported Q4 EPS of $0.38, $0.05 worse than the analyst estimate of $0.43. Revenue for the quarter came in at $1.3 billion versus the consensus estimate of $1.32 billion.

CEO Hikmet Ersek said, “I’m pleased with the progress of our business in the fourth quarter, as we continued to deliver strong digital growth and solid financial results. Importantly, we began implementing a number of initiatives from our new strategy and productivity program, and we start 2020 with good momentum for achieving the 2022 targets we laid out at our September investor day.”

CFO Raj Agrawal said, “Our solid underlying performance and focus on efficiency in 2019 generated strong profits and cash flow that enabled us to return over $880 million to shareholders, through dividends and repurchases, while funding our growth strategy. We remain confident in our ability to deliver strong financial performance in 2020 and beyond, and are pleased to announce an increase in our quarterly dividend.”

GUIDANCE:

Western Union sees FY2020 EPS of $1.95-$2.05, versus the consensus of $1.97.

The Company is affirming its three-year financial targets including operating margin of approximately 23% in 2022 and a low double-digit EPS CAGR for the three years ending 20221.

The Company expects the following outlook for 2020:

Revenue

• GAAP: flat to low single-digit decline, primarily due to the divestiture of our domestic bill payments business, Speedpay, in May 2019
• Adjusted constant currency: low single-digit increase, excluding any benefit related to Argentina inflation

Operating Profit Margin

• GAAP operating margin of approximately 20% and adjusted operating margin of approximately 21%

Tax Rate

• GAAP and adjusted effective tax rate in a mid-teens range

Earnings per Share

• GAAP EPS in a range of $1.87 to $1.97
• Adjusted EPS in a range of $1.95 to $2.05

Cash Flow

• GAAP cash flow from operating activities of approximately $900 million
• Adjusted cash flow from operating activities of approximately $1.0 billion

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