Western Union’s expenses in connection with the suspension of work in Russia and Belarus amounted to $11 million, the company said in its statements for the first quarter of 2022.

Western Union announced the suspension of operations in Russia and Belarus on March 10 due to the situation in Ukraine. The company had been operating in Russia as Western Union DP Vostok NPO. On March 24, it was removed from the register of payment system operators. Western Union’s net profit under IFRS for the first six months of 2021 amounted to 817.5 million rubles, which is four times more than in the same period of 2020 (204.2 million rubles).

Western Union revised its financial forecast for 2022 due to the cessation of operations in Russia and Belarus. The company expects earnings per share in the range of $2.13-2.23 (previously expected $2.38-2.48). The impact from the suspension of operations in Russia and Belarus is estimated at $0.03 per share.

According to the forecast, the withdrawal from the Russian and Belorussian markets will result in a $70 million reduction in annual revenue mainly in the next three quarters.

The company’s Q1 2022 revenue declined 4% to $1.1 billion (excluding the former Business Solutions business unit). Net income rose 61% to $293.2 million.

Business in Russia and Belarus brought the company about 4% of annual income.

Earlier, international payment systems Visa and Mastercard announced losses due to the departure from Russia. Visa reported in the quarter and six months ended March 31, losses of $35 million in general and administrative expenses due to the deconsolidation of its subsidiary in Russia. Mastercard reported a $4 million loss in Q1 due to its withdrawal from the Russian market.

Western Union provides payment services, including money transfer. The company was founded in the USA in 1851 and has about 600 thousand branches in 200 countries.