Western Union Stock Falls on Declining Profit, Disappointing Outlook

Money transfer giant Western Union (WU) reported a 6.6% profit decline from a year ago, but its uninspired outlook for 2010 scared investors most, sending its stock price down more than 9.5% in early morning trading.

The company reported a profit of $223.7 million or 32 cents a share and revenues of $1.31 billion for the fourth quarter of 2009. A year earlier, the company posted a profit of $239.6 million, or 34 cents a share, on revenues of $1.29 billion. Operating margins declined to 24.2% from 25.9% last year, largely because of two acquisitions.