Boston, MA 08/25/2014 (wallstreetpr) – The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU), a leading global payment services company with more than $9 billion in market cap, announced expansion of its Nigerian operations. The company launched outbound remittance transactions in Nigeria, a service that has been lacking despite the fact that Western Union entered the Nigerian market in 1995.
The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)’s latest move in Nigeria will first benefit customers of the country’s foremost banking company, First Bank of Nigeria Limited, which became the first Western Union agent to offer the outbound remittance service. Western Union will expand the service to other agents in the country.
Africa expansion
The launch of outbound remittance in Nigeria becomes the latest in Western Union’s expansion efforts in Africa as it looks to emerging markets for growth. It recently announced a collaborative arrangement with MTN Group to offer mobile-based money transactions in Ivory Coast. The Ivory Coast service allows mobile phone users to receive Western Union directly on their devices.
The new Western Union service is expected to give Nigerian access to another quality financial service from a global provider that they may enjoy convenient transaction with the potential of fostering their economic activities and improving their lives. At the same time, Western Union scores with the potential to increase its revenue in Africa’s biggest economy.
Flagging financial performance
The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)’s 2Q financial results saw a decline in the net income, which was $193.8 million compared with $198.6 million in the like quarter last year. However, its revenue increased slightly to $1.41 billion from $1.39 billion that was realized a year earlier. The revenue in the latest quarter fell short of the consensus estimate, which was $1.42 billion for the quarter.
For the full-year 2014, Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) expects revenue to remain flat from last year or grow at a low single-digit. It expects to earn between $1.45 and $1.50 a share in the year, in-line with the consensus estimate of $1.45 a share.
