NASDAQ:IMXI International Money Express Q3 2023 Earnings Report $11.83 -0.08 (-0.67%) Closing price 04/15/2025 04:00 PM EasternExtended Trading$11.60 -0.23 (-1.94%) As of 09:19 AM Eastern Extended trading is trading that happens on electronic markets outside of regular trading hours. This is a fair market value extended hours price provided by Polygon.io. Learn more. Earnings HistoryForecast International Money Express EPS ResultsActual EPS$0.46Consensus EPS $0.47Beat/MissMissed by -$0.01One Year Ago EPSN/AInternational Money Express Revenue ResultsActual Revenue$172.44 millionExpected Revenue$169.70 millionBeat/MissBeat by +$2.74 millionYoY Revenue GrowthN/AInternational Money Express Announcement DetailsQuarterQ3 2023Date11/7/2023TimeN/AConference Call DateTuesday, November 7, 2023Conference Call Time9:00AM ETUpcoming EarningsInternational Money Express' Q1 2025 earnings is scheduled for Tuesday, May 6, 2025, with a conference call scheduled on Wednesday, May 7, 2025 at 9:00 AM ET. Check back for transcripts, audio, and key financial metrics as they become available.Conference Call ResourcesConference Call AudioConference Call TranscriptSlide DeckPress Release (8-K)Quarterly Report (10-Q)Earnings HistoryCompany ProfileSlide DeckFull Screen Slide DeckPowered by International Money Express Q3 2023 Earnings Call TranscriptProvided by QuartrNovember 7, 2023 ShareLink copied to clipboard.There are 9 speakers on the call. Operator00:00:00Good day, and welcome to the International Money Express Inc. 3rd Quarter 2023 Earnings and Conference Call. All participants will be in listen only mode. After today's presentation, there will be an opportunity to ask Please note this event is being recorded. I would now like to turn the conference over to Mike Galentine, Head of Investor Relations. Operator00:00:32Please go ahead. Speaker 100:00:36Good morning, and welcome to our quarterly earnings call. I want to remind everyone that today's call includes Forward looking statements, including our Q4 2023 guidance and actual results may differ materially from expectations. For additional information on International Money Express, which we refer to as Intermex or the company, Please see our SEC filings, including the risk factors described therein. All forward looking Statements on this call are based on assumptions and beliefs as of today. You should not rely on our forward looking statements as predictions of future events. Speaker 100:01:16Please refer to Slide 2 of our earnings presentation for a description of certain forward looking statements. The company undertakes no obligation to update such information except as required by applicable law. On this conference call, we discuss certain non GAAP financial measures. Information required by Regulation G Under the Securities and Exchange Act for such non GAAP financial measures is included in the presentation slides, our earnings press release And our annual report on Form 10 ks, including reconciliation of certain non GAAP financial measures to the appropriate GAAP measures. These can be obtained in the Investors section of our website at intermexonline.com. Speaker 100:02:02Presenting on today's call is Our Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President, Bob Lisi and Chief Financial Officer, Andres Bendy. Also on the call today are Chris Hunt, Chief Operating Officer Joseph Aguilar, President, Latin America Randy Nelson, EVP of Retail Sales and Marcelo Theodoro, Chief Digital Officer. Let me now turn the call over to Bob. Speaker 200:02:30Good morning, and welcome to our Q3 earnings call. We thank you all for your interest in Intermex. We have achieved another productive quarter Building on our history of profitable growth. We continue to grow revenues and EBITDA while generating free cash. Although EPS metrics were skewed by nonrecurring items this year and last, these metrics did meet Expectations. Speaker 200:02:54We have accomplished this all and continue to invest significantly in the future through our revenue streams such as digital service And our European Eye Transfer division. Looking at the consolidated company results on Slide 3, Revenue increased 22.5 percent to $172,400,000 Fully diluted earnings per share decreased 4.7 percent to $0.41 per share on net income of 14,800,000 Adjusted EPS decreased by 5.6 percent to $0.51 per share and adjusted net income of 18,400,000 Our adjusted EBITDA grew 14% to $31,700,000 Andrew Spendy, our CFO, will expand on these in greater detail during his prepared remarks. I will focus my remarks today on primarily growth drivers impacting our business this quarter And what we anticipate in quarters to come. I will talk about our existing agent retail business, our actions to accelerate growth, The improved efficiencies we are already seeing in the La Nationale business. I will also discuss our growing momentum with our digital business And our European acquisition, iTransfir. Speaker 200:04:11The bedrock of all our offerings lies in the distinctive foundation anchored in our value added omni channel strategy That attracts a growing customer base. The trust we have garnered from our customers has positioned Intermex as their preferred choice for money transfers. Our customer centric omnichannel business model thrives on a cutting edge technology and our operational infrastructure that is difficult to replicate. Powered by state of the art proprietary technology, we deliver value added services to our retailers and customers Through our highly productive network of retail agents. 1 of the primary ways we provide value added service to our agents It's through our extensive banking relationships. Speaker 200:04:54Recognizing that many of our agents are small, locally owned businesses and that they are dealing in substantial cash transactions, Many financial institutions prefer not to bank these businesses. We have leveraged our relationships with 12 regional and national banks to help these small businesses established depository access with our banking partners, easing the process for the retailer. In addition, our ability to process checks through our Check Direct product provides another level of convenience to the retailer. Our recent addition of 5th Third Bank as a key banking partner further fortifies our commitment to supporting our agents in this regard. Our agent retail business forms the crux Of our present operation contributes significantly to our revenues, profitability and net free cash generated. Speaker 200:05:45This channel is a critical asset fueling our current and future growth. The retail network's relatively low cost And efficiency enables Intermex to invest and grow our digital transactions and other new revenue streams, while the overall company remains very profitable. As a result, no burn of investor funds will be needed to supplement the cost of building our digital business. The efficiency of our retail model burns less than 7% of total gross profit on sales and marketing efforts for customer acquisition. This omnichannel approach enables Intermex to participate in high margin retail transactions, while utilizing that model and a portion of its profits To perfect and grow our digital business. Speaker 200:06:28All this occurs while Intermex remains highly profitable and produces significant free cash. Last quarter, we commented on Mexico's markets growth slowing, partly due to the dollar to peso exchange rate. This stagnant growth produced a ripple effect through the retail market, and as a result, our growth slowed. We have modified our approach to certain market components, And the early results have been quite encouraging. We have taken a rifle shot approach to specific targeted opportunities for growth with alternative pricing. Speaker 200:07:01We have accomplished this while retaining margins in our highly profitable base. The early results have been encouraging. After the Q2, we guided to 5% transaction growth in our core business for the rest of the year. In Q3, we delivered approximately 6% and were trending as the quarter ended. The early indications suggest that transactions in our core business will grow 8% in 4th quarter. Speaker 200:07:26Not only are we capturing wires faster than projected, we are doing better relative to margin. Where our wires grew at 6% in Q3, our margins grew at 7%. This is driven by a more efficient pricing model. We expect this strategy will continue to create a lift to our year over year growth going forward. We are proud of our progress, but recognize we have many more opportunities to access. Speaker 200:07:49This is all consistent with Intermex's surgical approach, While focusing on specific agents, geographies to maximize profitability, while navigating more efficiently and profitably to deliver growth. Our ability to price efficiently down to the zip code level results in our core business delivering approximately 20% EBITDA margins. On Slide 4, you can see our growth in share over time in the top five countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, which account for approximately 82% Of the money transferred from the U. S. To that region. Speaker 200:08:21In Q3 2023, our estimated market share in these key receiving countries increased to 21.8% compared to 20.6% in Q3 of 2022. Shifting our focus to La Nacionale, we have made significant strides in integrating and rightsizing its U. S.-based operations. The restructuring actions to date will yield an expected annualized savings of approximately $1,500,000 starting this past quarter. We originally thought that opportunity related to La Nationale was only about rightsizing the retail network and maximizing operational efficiencies. Speaker 200:09:00We have made significant strides to that end. However, after more than a year with the business, we see a clear opportunity to grow the top line as well When we apply the Intermex playbook. During his remarks, Andres will discuss 3rd quarter restructuring charges and financial profile. Nationale is proving to be a valuable asset for Intermex and will likely contribute significantly over time. We are even more optimistic about the iTransfers acquisition in Europe. Speaker 200:09:28That division continues to exceed our expectations, both in terms of performance and its potential. We plan to expand the Itransfer footprint in our existing markets where we have a base from which to grow. These countries include Spain, Italy and Germany In the markets with significant potential where we are licensed but not yet present, such as France. Additionally, we believe the U. K. Speaker 200:09:50Will be a substantial market opportunity, Although this requires a separate license since it is not part of the EU. The European market holds significant potential for growth, thoughtfully and efficiently to capture profitable market share. We also believe the European market has greater potential for online digital wires due to the larger We feel that is merely a starting point and expect much higher growth over time. Transitioning to digital, We are growing the digital revenue at about 65%. But more importantly, this is happening at a greatly improved margin. Speaker 200:10:33We have carefully and efficiently upgraded our digital product offering. We have assembled a world class digital team and made significant strides to improve The unit economics as well as our digital app. All of this has come together at a perfect time. Our recently signed agreement with Aviso Will enable us to expand our digital service to 20 additional countries worldwide, including Jamaica, India, the Philippines and Vietnam, And with further expansion slated for 2024. We have created significant momentum with our digital business. Speaker 200:11:04And again, best of all, we are doing all this profitably From the both a unit economics and a bottom line perspective. We will share more on our Investor Day in 2024, but We would like to say that we're more bullish than ever relative to our digital opportunity. Finally, a few words on our payroll and GPR cards. These products are strategically positioned in large and attractive markets. The co branded cards prominently feature Mastercard and Intermex brand And will align perfectly with our extensive high traffic retail distribution network. Speaker 200:11:38In addition, both our payroll and GPR cards Our great bridge to our digital product. They will create an opportunity to bank previously unbanked consumers. Versus last year, we have seen digital remittance transactions that were settled from the Intermex payroll card grow 5 fold in 3rd quarter. We believe this is a testament to the power of the Intermex brand once the customer is banked, especially once the customer is banked with Intermex. In summary, I believe it has been a special quarter of accomplishment for Intermex. Speaker 200:12:10Our targeted plan at retail is beginning to work, And we're seeing a reversal of what has been some slowing in our year over year trends. Additionally, we have positioned ourselves in the La National NI Transfer business To become more efficient while growing and driving increased EBITDA. As always, we accomplished all this profitably, enabling the company to invest in our digital solution will broaden our receiving country in service list and reduce our cost structure. This is all very exciting. We believe our omnichannel strategy It's the best and most complete way to go to market. Speaker 200:12:52This approach continues to enable Intermex to capture millions of high Margin, retail transactions that drive profitability, enabling us to invest in and grow our digital side of the business while remaining highly I will now turn the call over to Andres, who will discuss our financials. Speaker 300:13:13Thank you. We had another quarter of double digit EBITDA growth and finished of our projections for the core successfully executing on an important pivot for the business. On Slide 5, unique active customers increased by 35.1 During the Q3 to $4,000,000 These customers generated $15,400,000 remittance transactions, 25.7 percent more than a year ago. While guiding at 5% transaction growth in the core after Q2, our successful execution allowed us to achieve 6% In Q3, and early indications are that we can deliver 8% in Q4. On slide 6, we achieved a 60 3% increase in digitally originated transactions. Speaker 300:13:56And as before, we achieved this through brand recognition and with minimum marketing spend. Strong customer acceptance of our mobile app continues, and I'm pleased to say that the work we've done on enhancing the profitability of digital Puts us in a great position to grow this business faster and more profitably than ever before. From a send or receive perspective, 33% of our transactions either sent or received cashless at either end, up 5 percentage points from a year ago. On Slide 7, the total principal transferred grew 19.8 percent to CAD6.6 billion, driven by our core business and the addition of La Nacional's U. S. Speaker 300:14:34And international business eye transfer. The average remittance within the U. S. Core Intermex business was consistent with the prior year. It was $4.54 up slightly from 1 year ago. Speaker 300:14:46In the consolidated business, the average send amount was down 4.7% for the quarter year over year At $4.29 per transaction. As mentioned before, this is due to structurally lower average transaction amounts At La Nacional and Itransfer. La Nacional averaged $2.98 per transaction and Itransfer $2.95 for the 3rd quarter. On Slide 8, total revenues company wide increased 22.5 percent year over year, reaching $172,400,000 during the 3 months. Excluding acquisitions, revenue growth in our core business was 5.8%, fueled by organic customer additions, Through new and existing agents and our successful pivot to capture incremental wires at lower margins than in the past. Speaker 300:15:33Again, we've seen an inflection point in our growth rate and are now anticipating transaction growth in our core at around 8% in the 4th quarter. Net income was impacted by a few key areas. Q3 last year benefited from a $2,900,000 tax benefit that did not recur In 2023, the year over year comparison was also challenged with $1,100,000 this quarter in restructuring costs for the Lenacel Now business, Absolutely the right investment as those actions are expected to improve the cost trajectory of that business immediately and resulting in about $1,500,000 savings annually. Higher interest rates on our credit facility, depreciation and amortizations of intangibles and a higher effective tax rate all kept GAAP net income growth in check. Net income was down 10.8 percent at $14,800,000 though GAAP EPS was better Down 4.7 percent to $0.41 per share aided by our share buybacks. Speaker 300:16:33We anticipate EPS to return to a growth trajectory in Q4. Looking at Slide 9, adjusted EBITDA increased 14% to $31,700,000 As anticipated, Even with our tactical pivot to capture incremental transactions, margins in the core business held up great at around 20%. Aggregate EBITDA margin was down as in the previous quarters, and this was heavily driven by structurally lower margins within the La Nacional acquisition. Adjusted net income was down 11.1 percent during the Q3 to $18,400,000 also impacted in Q3 last year By the $2,900,000 tax benefit that did not recur in 2023. Adjusted net income was impacted by the same underlying drivers as GAAP net income, But excludes items like share based compensation, transaction and restructuring related expenses, amortization of intangibles and the tax impacts related to those items. Speaker 300:17:30From an adjusted EPS perspective, we were down 5.6 percent to $0.51 per share. And as with GAAP EPS, we anticipate adjusted EPS to return to a growth trajectory in the Q4. Turning to the balance sheet on Slide 10. Intermex continues to be an efficient operator And cash generator. Net free cash generated, our internal measure, which excludes working capital cyclicality, was We expect this measure to revert to growth once again in Q4. Speaker 300:18:19During the quarter, we continue to be active in the market, purchasing 502,000 shares For $10,000,000 at an average price of $19.90 per share through the Board authorized repurchase program. We continue to see our buyback program as an excellent use of capital and anticipate remaining active. Finally, on Slide 11, Based on the improving metrics we're seeing in our operations, we're providing the following 4th quarter guidance. Revenues of $170,000,000 to $181,000,000 10% to 17% GAAP diluted EPS of $0.43 to $0.46 up 22% to 30% Adjusted diluted EPS of $0.51 to $0.54 up 6% to 12% and adjusted EBITDA of 31 $400,000 to $33,400,000 up 8% to 15%. In summary, we're pleased with the quarter and the growth we've delivered. Speaker 300:19:14Our retail execution pivot is paying dividends and we expect more of that in the Q4. This growth will continue to fund the exciting future ahead of us in digital, Europe and other products. With that, I'll turn it over to the operator for questions. Operator00:19:35We'll now begin the question and answer session. The first question comes from David Scharf with JMP. Please go ahead. Speaker 400:20:01Great. Good morning, everybody. Thanks for taking my questions. First off, Bob, I was kind of curious, I'm just looking at the first paragraph of your press release and it has the comment, We are ahead of schedule in our plans to capture incremental retail transactions in the U. S. Speaker 400:20:24And I just want to make sure I'm not overthinking that. Is that Sort of a very focused comment related to the core transaction growth that you expect in Q4 Speaker 200:20:36or Speaker 400:20:37is that a broader comment about just what you're seeing on the ground in terms of agent sign ups, Speaker 200:20:47It's a direct comment on what we produced in Q3 and what we expect to produce in 4th. If you recall on our guidance in terms of transaction growth, when we finished the 2nd quarter Earnings, we projected 5% growth and we delivered 6% in the quarter and it was increasing as the quarter ended. We expect higher growth, as I said in the prepared remarks, in Q4. Additionally, That's not really put a ding in our overall margins. So in Q3, where we grew transactions 6%. Speaker 200:21:25We actually grew our gross margin 7%, and that was due to a more effective way to price. So we really set aside our Core business and kept that stable and at the margins where we get incremental wires is where we're aggressive and that has been working really, really well. And We think we're well ahead of where we expected to be, both in terms of picking up more wires than we expected At least told the market that we would bring in, but also in the sense that the margins have held up and actually Produced a higher margin than transaction growth. Speaker 400:22:02Got it, got it. That's helpful. Hey, as a follow-up, I know last Quarter, the topic of increased pricing pressure to a lot of markets to Latin America was Sort of top of mind and you noted a little more maybe resiliency in some of the private discounters this time around. Can you provide just a Sort of broad update whether anything has changed or if kind of the existing pricing environment, Yes. Speaker 200:22:35I mean, I think that the big news for us is that we've adjusted to that well related to Our plan and the way we're going at the incremental growth. So regardless of where that pricing pressure is there, we're doing a really good job holding our base And keeping that at the high margins where that's been and then going out aggressively at incremental wires. But those incremental wires are still wires Coming in very profitable, just not at the same margins as the original wires would come in. But the adjusting that we've done becoming more efficient In our base business has again delivered a greater gross margin growth than transaction growth. Now I'm not trying to evade the question. Speaker 200:23:20I think there's always price discounters out there. I think it's the method which people think they grow the business. And I think that it kind of comes and goes. And I think as long as we're executing our plan the way we're executing today, We can work right through that. I think we now have the we're now well positioned with the way we're approaching the market relative to both pricing And attacking incremental wires to meet any challenges that pricing might bring to us. Speaker 400:23:50Got it. Just Last question, I kind of be remiss if I didn't ask sort of the general commentary on what you're seeing or expecting from Your consumers, I imagine with a flattish average send in your core business that inflation isn't impacting Remittance demand too much, but if there's any color you might want to provide. Speaker 200:24:15Yes. I think one of the big factors is the peso strengthened, So you don't need to send as many dollars to get as many pesos on the other side of the border. So that's going to be a big Countervailance to any inflation really, because we're thinking of inflation here, but yet you're now getting The peso is much stronger than it was previously, and that's going to cause people to be able to be able to send less to get the same amount of pesos on the other side of the border. So we're seeing it kind of flat right now, but it could go up if the peso started to weaken for instance. Speaker 400:24:51Got it, got it. Perfect. Great. Thank you very much. Operator00:24:54You're welcome. The next question is from Mike Grondahl with Northland Securities. Please go ahead. Speaker 500:25:03Hey, thanks guys and congratulations on the progress. Bob, you kind of talked On the last call about it like a targeted plan, I think one was These pricing offers to agents where you lost volume 2, you were targeting new agents 3, some pricing actions and 4, sort of new markets. Could you kind of rank where you've been the most Successful and where you think you still have a little bit of wood to chop on those four items? Speaker 200:25:43Yes. I think the place that we've been the most successful is going after opportunities where we've lost wires in the past Because of discounting and being able to go after those wires aggressively, still profitably, while protecting the base. So again, not going in if and I'll get in a little bit into the weeds here with you because it's I think the only way to really answer this. If an agent used to do 2,000 wires with This now does $500,000,000 We're really going to discount and give them a better pricing on wires 501 and up. So we're protecting that base. Speaker 200:26:16We're not decreasing the margin at that retailer on the core that they already have and certainly not in agent retailers where We haven't lost anything at all. The easiest thing to do and the mistake that the market makes, and we're happy most of our competitors do this, is they take Sort of a sickle to a surgical event, right? And they just go in and they lower their margin across The country, but we have a huge core of business that's performing quite well at the margins that we already have. And so that's been the best piece of that, and we have A lot more to do. That project is probably responsible for about a 1.5% lift on our trend line over the last few months. Speaker 200:26:58And we believe that we can continue that project producing that 50 basis points or so of lift month over month for a number of months still, Not into perpetuity, but clearly to bring our transaction growth numbers up quite a bit. New agents, I think is The total of new agents that we're bringing in is not as big as it's been in the past, but we've never really been focused on the number of agents as much as we are the Performance in the total amount of wires and the new agents have been performing quite well. And so that's been helpful. I think what was the other things you asked? I'm sorry, I want to make sure I touch on all the points. Speaker 500:27:39Yes. I think 3 was some You were looking at some pricing and maybe selectively able to increase it in certain markets and the last one was just any new markets that you've added or Speaker 200:27:51Yes. I mean the pricing, the macro pricing, we've thought better about. So we're not doing macro pricing and getting more Let's say, in a whole state like Arizona. Everything we're doing is rifle shots because that is really the key to us maintaining those margins and actually Extending our margins bigger than the growth of transactions. So I would say we haven't done much of the macro, if any, At all. Speaker 200:28:16And then new geographies, there's some states for us that are growing quite well. I won't name them that are not necessarily new because we've been in every state, but they are Underdeveloped states that we've made some turns in that have been helpful, mostly in the Western states. California is now Growing and the trend has turned around significantly, and there's a few other states out west that are performing quite well. And I'd be remiss if I didn't say that we're getting a significant lift In our overall number from our digital business. And I want to make sure that everybody is clear that we believe our omni channel approach is the absolute I mean, there's no blood in the street with our approach. Speaker 200:28:56We continue to throw off extremes amount of cash. We're highly profitable, and we're growing our digital business quite Well, the recent views on our app is that it's working quite well and it's amongst the best. And we're now Making on an individual unit economics basis money on wires on digital. Yes, still that acquisition of the customer is expensive, but we have this wonderful model at retail where we spend only about 7%, 7% of our gross margin to acquire a customer for our total sales and marketing costs compared to some of the moves that are out there if you're Strictly digital, how expensive that is. We really believe this model will prevail over time and the way to grow this business is to have that solid omni channel approach With the beachhead of retail and to grow digital from that perspective and it's working perfectly for us. Speaker 500:29:54Great, great. And then just secondly, any update on number of salespeople from say maybe July 1st To today to kind of what you're thinking about for next year? Speaker 200:30:07Yes. I mean, we have We looked at that. We have about 3 more salespeople than we had last time we spoke in the field, but we have put 6 folks In Guatemala, and we're going to put another 6 people in Guatemala that are basically part of our telemarketing program. And we have a much more extended reach because we can call about more people as you can imagine that we can visit in person. So those 6 people that we've added Are bringing us literally thousands of more customer contacts, meaning retailers on a monthly basis, and we're going to double that. Speaker 200:30:41We think that's The best way right now to extend our reach to more retailers on a daily basis, although we have grown our number of people actually on the ground at retail Buy 3 from Q2. Speaker 500:30:54Great. Hey, thanks a lot Bob and team. Operator00:30:57You're welcome. Next question is from Sam Silvas from Needham and Company. Please go ahead. Speaker 600:31:10Great. Thanks guys. Thanks for taking the questions here this morning and good to see the results. Just wanted to ask on competition. Are you guys seeing any changes in the competitive dynamics, whether it's on the retail or digital Business and could you just talk about that a little bit and how that's maybe evolved since last quarter? Speaker 200:31:35I don't believe there's any real evolution. I think people that have been discounters continue to be discounters. I think It's been our approach to it that's really changed. I think we've gotten this plan that we put in place that has been very intricate and that we're working every day related to preserving the base. It's almost like redundant to keep saying, but preserving that base, which is The solid base of wires that are really high margin and then going out aggressively where we've seen competitive infringement, people coming after Our wires, and it's working really well. Speaker 200:32:10So I don't think there's a big change. I think discounters have always been there. They're always going to be there. And over the years, we've held up really, really well consistently with our pricing. And Now, I think we're doing that even better than we have before because of how thinly we're slicing it and the ability to Really reverse the trend a bit, not anywhere near where we're necessarily happy with, but reversing the trend, bringing in higher growth than we had projected for 3rd Quarter transactionally, but doing that at a higher margin. Speaker 200:32:42So to me that kind of it says if we can apply ourselves properly on a zip code by zip code level with a right foot slot approach, we can combat against the discounting at retail quite well. On the digital side, I'll let Marcelo, would you like to comment on the pricing in digital, Youssine? Speaker 700:33:01Of course, our pricing has increased significantly, combining a better pricing strategy with a more efficient cost management. So per Bob's comment, I'm very confident we are for sure on the top of the profitability versus digital players, Which give us the foundation to grow and to have a better return on investment. Speaker 600:33:28Got it. That's super helpful color. Appreciate that. And then Just a quick follow-up. Obviously, you guys aren't providing any guidance for 2024, but I guess is there any Kind of color you guys could provide, whether it's around transaction expectations relative to the Q4 or the Q3? Speaker 600:33:51Yes. Any kind of preliminary thoughts kind of as we head into 'twenty four? Speaker 300:33:57Yes. I think this is Andrew. So I think not at this I think that we did mention that we will be doing an Investor Day that will be coming together in February, where we'll go through the year And results and also give a broader picture of our strategy and the financials that will come behind that. So not at this point. Speaker 200:34:17Yes. Speaker 600:34:18Okay. Yes, fair enough. All right. Thanks, guys. Operator00:34:45The last question comes from the line of Alex Margraf with KeyBanc Capital Markets. Please go ahead. Speaker 800:34:52Thank you and thanks for taking my question this morning. Just there's been a lot of Commentary on pricing and some of the observations this quarter. I'm just curious to kind of boil it down and maybe I'm oversimplifying it. But if I look at 1 of the model outputs being revenue per transaction fairly stable sequentially. Just curious if you all kind of think about this as the right level For the model, just for modeling purposes for the near term considering some of the industry level factors around pricing, the success you've had more recently and then just General mix of the business considering on Ascenal and Itransfer. Speaker 800:35:30Any thoughts on that would be helpful. Speaker 200:35:33Yes. I think we believe that We've made headway into being as we've been able to, on one side, be aggressive to go after incremental wires That it may have been lost to the competition previously. We've been really good at making sure that we're maximizing our margins related to Our base business in our stronghold areas. So I think where we are today is probably a really good view of where the revenue per transaction And margins would sit going forward. Obviously, that's not guaranteed because you're we're not guiding on that, but I would tell you that we think that we have A good perspective and a good strategy today that should carry us through the near term. Speaker 800:36:21Thank you. That's very helpful. And then just one on the product side. Thank you for the payroll and GPR comments. I think last quarter you had mentioned a payroll card upgrade launch later this year. Speaker 800:36:33Just any sort of updates or thoughts or kind of details as to what that entails would be helpful. Speaker 700:36:39Yes. The evolution of our payroll is happening. We are about to launch In 2 weeks, completely redesigned program that connects even more the card program with the wire sending product. I I think Andrew has mentioned in his notes that we are growing this cross sell 5 times, which is exactly what we are looking for Because then it makes an extremely profitable wire and still we make money out of the cards business. So that's the direction we Going in Q1, we are launching the DPI card, another huge cross sell opportunity for our retail. Speaker 700:37:16We know that our consumers are unbanked or Under service. So this will bring them to a very expanded reality regarding purchases in U. S. They can go to E commerce, they can go to subscription business, a bunch of services that they don't have access today and we believe they are head users Due to their situation in U. S. Speaker 800:37:41Great. Thank you. Operator00:37:49This concludes our question and answer session. Would like to turn the conference back over to Mike Galentine, Head of Investor Relations, for any closing remarks. Speaker 200:37:58Yes. Actually, this is Bob Lizzie. Thank you all for tuning in and your interest in the company. We'll look forward to talking to you all soon. Thanks again. Speaker 200:38:06Have a great day. Operator00:38:16The conference is now concluded. Thank you for attending today's presentation. You may now disconnect.Read moreRemove AdsPowered by Conference Call Audio Live Call not available Earnings Conference CallInternational Money Express Q3 202300:00 / 00:00Speed:1x1.25x1.5x2xRemove Ads Earnings DocumentsSlide DeckPress Release(8-K)Quarterly report(10-Q) International Money Express Earnings HeadlinesIntermex Empowers Store Owners With Launch of Intermex SOMA: A Game-Changing Mobile App for Business Management on the GoApril 15 at 7:00 PM | markets.businessinsider.comInternational Money Express (NASDAQ:IMXI) vs. Mastercard (NYSE:MA) Head-To-Head SurveyApril 15 at 2:33 AM | americanbankingnews.comThe Crypto Market is About to Change LivesI've discovered something so significant about the 2025 crypto market that I had to put everything else aside and write a book about it. This isn't just another Bitcoin prediction – it's a complete roadmap for what I believe will be the biggest wealth-building opportunity of this decade. The evidence is so compelling, I'm doing something that probably seems insane: I'm giving away my entire book for free. April 16, 2025 | Crypto 101 Media (Ad)Monness Keeps Their Hold Rating on International Money Express (IMXI)April 9, 2025 | markets.businessinsider.comNeedham Sticks to Its Buy Rating for International Money Express (IMXI)April 5, 2025 | markets.businessinsider.comInternational Money Express (IMXI): Among the Best NASDAQ Stocks with the Lowest P/E RatiosMarch 20, 2025 | msn.comSee More International Money Express Headlines Get Earnings Announcements in your inboxWant to stay updated on the latest earnings announcements and upcoming reports for companies like International Money Express? Sign up for Earnings360's daily newsletter to receive timely earnings updates on International Money Express and other key companies, straight to your email. Email Address About International Money ExpressInternational Money Express (NASDAQ:IMXI), together with its subsidiaries, operates as an omnichannel money remittance services company in the United States, Latin America, Mexico, Central and South America, the Caribbean, Africa, and Asia. The company offers remittance services, which include a suite of ancillary financial processing solutions and payment services; and online payment options, pre-paid debit cards, and direct deposit payroll cards. It provides services through sending and paying agents and company-operated stores, as well as through online and Internet-enabled mobile devices. International Money Express, Inc. is headquartered in Miami, Florida.View International Money Express ProfileRead more More Earnings Resources from MarketBeat Earnings Tools Today's Earnings Tomorrow's Earnings Next Week's Earnings Upcoming Earnings Calls Earnings Newsletter Earnings Call Transcripts Earnings Beats & Misses Corporate Guidance Earnings Screener Earnings By Country U.S. Earnings Reports Canadian Earnings Reports U.K. Earnings Reports Latest Articles Johnson & Johnson Earnings Were More Good Than Bad—Time to Buy? Why Analysts Boosted United Airlines Stock Ahead of EarningsLamb Weston Stock Rises, Earnings Provide Calm Amidst ChaosIntuitive Machines Gains After Earnings Beat, NASA Missions AheadCintas Delivers Earnings Beat, Signals More Growth AheadNike Stock Dips on Earnings: Analysts Weigh in on What’s NextAfter Massive Post Earnings Fall, Does Hope Remain for MongoDB? 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There are 9 speakers on the call. Operator00:00:00Good day, and welcome to the International Money Express Inc. 3rd Quarter 2023 Earnings and Conference Call. All participants will be in listen only mode. After today's presentation, there will be an opportunity to ask Please note this event is being recorded. I would now like to turn the conference over to Mike Galentine, Head of Investor Relations. Operator00:00:32Please go ahead. Speaker 100:00:36Good morning, and welcome to our quarterly earnings call. I want to remind everyone that today's call includes Forward looking statements, including our Q4 2023 guidance and actual results may differ materially from expectations. For additional information on International Money Express, which we refer to as Intermex or the company, Please see our SEC filings, including the risk factors described therein. All forward looking Statements on this call are based on assumptions and beliefs as of today. You should not rely on our forward looking statements as predictions of future events. Speaker 100:01:16Please refer to Slide 2 of our earnings presentation for a description of certain forward looking statements. The company undertakes no obligation to update such information except as required by applicable law. On this conference call, we discuss certain non GAAP financial measures. Information required by Regulation G Under the Securities and Exchange Act for such non GAAP financial measures is included in the presentation slides, our earnings press release And our annual report on Form 10 ks, including reconciliation of certain non GAAP financial measures to the appropriate GAAP measures. These can be obtained in the Investors section of our website at intermexonline.com. Speaker 100:02:02Presenting on today's call is Our Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President, Bob Lisi and Chief Financial Officer, Andres Bendy. Also on the call today are Chris Hunt, Chief Operating Officer Joseph Aguilar, President, Latin America Randy Nelson, EVP of Retail Sales and Marcelo Theodoro, Chief Digital Officer. Let me now turn the call over to Bob. Speaker 200:02:30Good morning, and welcome to our Q3 earnings call. We thank you all for your interest in Intermex. We have achieved another productive quarter Building on our history of profitable growth. We continue to grow revenues and EBITDA while generating free cash. Although EPS metrics were skewed by nonrecurring items this year and last, these metrics did meet Expectations. Speaker 200:02:54We have accomplished this all and continue to invest significantly in the future through our revenue streams such as digital service And our European Eye Transfer division. Looking at the consolidated company results on Slide 3, Revenue increased 22.5 percent to $172,400,000 Fully diluted earnings per share decreased 4.7 percent to $0.41 per share on net income of 14,800,000 Adjusted EPS decreased by 5.6 percent to $0.51 per share and adjusted net income of 18,400,000 Our adjusted EBITDA grew 14% to $31,700,000 Andrew Spendy, our CFO, will expand on these in greater detail during his prepared remarks. I will focus my remarks today on primarily growth drivers impacting our business this quarter And what we anticipate in quarters to come. I will talk about our existing agent retail business, our actions to accelerate growth, The improved efficiencies we are already seeing in the La Nationale business. I will also discuss our growing momentum with our digital business And our European acquisition, iTransfir. Speaker 200:04:11The bedrock of all our offerings lies in the distinctive foundation anchored in our value added omni channel strategy That attracts a growing customer base. The trust we have garnered from our customers has positioned Intermex as their preferred choice for money transfers. Our customer centric omnichannel business model thrives on a cutting edge technology and our operational infrastructure that is difficult to replicate. Powered by state of the art proprietary technology, we deliver value added services to our retailers and customers Through our highly productive network of retail agents. 1 of the primary ways we provide value added service to our agents It's through our extensive banking relationships. Speaker 200:04:54Recognizing that many of our agents are small, locally owned businesses and that they are dealing in substantial cash transactions, Many financial institutions prefer not to bank these businesses. We have leveraged our relationships with 12 regional and national banks to help these small businesses established depository access with our banking partners, easing the process for the retailer. In addition, our ability to process checks through our Check Direct product provides another level of convenience to the retailer. Our recent addition of 5th Third Bank as a key banking partner further fortifies our commitment to supporting our agents in this regard. Our agent retail business forms the crux Of our present operation contributes significantly to our revenues, profitability and net free cash generated. Speaker 200:05:45This channel is a critical asset fueling our current and future growth. The retail network's relatively low cost And efficiency enables Intermex to invest and grow our digital transactions and other new revenue streams, while the overall company remains very profitable. As a result, no burn of investor funds will be needed to supplement the cost of building our digital business. The efficiency of our retail model burns less than 7% of total gross profit on sales and marketing efforts for customer acquisition. This omnichannel approach enables Intermex to participate in high margin retail transactions, while utilizing that model and a portion of its profits To perfect and grow our digital business. Speaker 200:06:28All this occurs while Intermex remains highly profitable and produces significant free cash. Last quarter, we commented on Mexico's markets growth slowing, partly due to the dollar to peso exchange rate. This stagnant growth produced a ripple effect through the retail market, and as a result, our growth slowed. We have modified our approach to certain market components, And the early results have been quite encouraging. We have taken a rifle shot approach to specific targeted opportunities for growth with alternative pricing. Speaker 200:07:01We have accomplished this while retaining margins in our highly profitable base. The early results have been encouraging. After the Q2, we guided to 5% transaction growth in our core business for the rest of the year. In Q3, we delivered approximately 6% and were trending as the quarter ended. The early indications suggest that transactions in our core business will grow 8% in 4th quarter. Speaker 200:07:26Not only are we capturing wires faster than projected, we are doing better relative to margin. Where our wires grew at 6% in Q3, our margins grew at 7%. This is driven by a more efficient pricing model. We expect this strategy will continue to create a lift to our year over year growth going forward. We are proud of our progress, but recognize we have many more opportunities to access. Speaker 200:07:49This is all consistent with Intermex's surgical approach, While focusing on specific agents, geographies to maximize profitability, while navigating more efficiently and profitably to deliver growth. Our ability to price efficiently down to the zip code level results in our core business delivering approximately 20% EBITDA margins. On Slide 4, you can see our growth in share over time in the top five countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, which account for approximately 82% Of the money transferred from the U. S. To that region. Speaker 200:08:21In Q3 2023, our estimated market share in these key receiving countries increased to 21.8% compared to 20.6% in Q3 of 2022. Shifting our focus to La Nacionale, we have made significant strides in integrating and rightsizing its U. S.-based operations. The restructuring actions to date will yield an expected annualized savings of approximately $1,500,000 starting this past quarter. We originally thought that opportunity related to La Nationale was only about rightsizing the retail network and maximizing operational efficiencies. Speaker 200:09:00We have made significant strides to that end. However, after more than a year with the business, we see a clear opportunity to grow the top line as well When we apply the Intermex playbook. During his remarks, Andres will discuss 3rd quarter restructuring charges and financial profile. Nationale is proving to be a valuable asset for Intermex and will likely contribute significantly over time. We are even more optimistic about the iTransfers acquisition in Europe. Speaker 200:09:28That division continues to exceed our expectations, both in terms of performance and its potential. We plan to expand the Itransfer footprint in our existing markets where we have a base from which to grow. These countries include Spain, Italy and Germany In the markets with significant potential where we are licensed but not yet present, such as France. Additionally, we believe the U. K. Speaker 200:09:50Will be a substantial market opportunity, Although this requires a separate license since it is not part of the EU. The European market holds significant potential for growth, thoughtfully and efficiently to capture profitable market share. We also believe the European market has greater potential for online digital wires due to the larger We feel that is merely a starting point and expect much higher growth over time. Transitioning to digital, We are growing the digital revenue at about 65%. But more importantly, this is happening at a greatly improved margin. Speaker 200:10:33We have carefully and efficiently upgraded our digital product offering. We have assembled a world class digital team and made significant strides to improve The unit economics as well as our digital app. All of this has come together at a perfect time. Our recently signed agreement with Aviso Will enable us to expand our digital service to 20 additional countries worldwide, including Jamaica, India, the Philippines and Vietnam, And with further expansion slated for 2024. We have created significant momentum with our digital business. Speaker 200:11:04And again, best of all, we are doing all this profitably From the both a unit economics and a bottom line perspective. We will share more on our Investor Day in 2024, but We would like to say that we're more bullish than ever relative to our digital opportunity. Finally, a few words on our payroll and GPR cards. These products are strategically positioned in large and attractive markets. The co branded cards prominently feature Mastercard and Intermex brand And will align perfectly with our extensive high traffic retail distribution network. Speaker 200:11:38In addition, both our payroll and GPR cards Our great bridge to our digital product. They will create an opportunity to bank previously unbanked consumers. Versus last year, we have seen digital remittance transactions that were settled from the Intermex payroll card grow 5 fold in 3rd quarter. We believe this is a testament to the power of the Intermex brand once the customer is banked, especially once the customer is banked with Intermex. In summary, I believe it has been a special quarter of accomplishment for Intermex. Speaker 200:12:10Our targeted plan at retail is beginning to work, And we're seeing a reversal of what has been some slowing in our year over year trends. Additionally, we have positioned ourselves in the La National NI Transfer business To become more efficient while growing and driving increased EBITDA. As always, we accomplished all this profitably, enabling the company to invest in our digital solution will broaden our receiving country in service list and reduce our cost structure. This is all very exciting. We believe our omnichannel strategy It's the best and most complete way to go to market. Speaker 200:12:52This approach continues to enable Intermex to capture millions of high Margin, retail transactions that drive profitability, enabling us to invest in and grow our digital side of the business while remaining highly I will now turn the call over to Andres, who will discuss our financials. Speaker 300:13:13Thank you. We had another quarter of double digit EBITDA growth and finished of our projections for the core successfully executing on an important pivot for the business. On Slide 5, unique active customers increased by 35.1 During the Q3 to $4,000,000 These customers generated $15,400,000 remittance transactions, 25.7 percent more than a year ago. While guiding at 5% transaction growth in the core after Q2, our successful execution allowed us to achieve 6% In Q3, and early indications are that we can deliver 8% in Q4. On slide 6, we achieved a 60 3% increase in digitally originated transactions. Speaker 300:13:56And as before, we achieved this through brand recognition and with minimum marketing spend. Strong customer acceptance of our mobile app continues, and I'm pleased to say that the work we've done on enhancing the profitability of digital Puts us in a great position to grow this business faster and more profitably than ever before. From a send or receive perspective, 33% of our transactions either sent or received cashless at either end, up 5 percentage points from a year ago. On Slide 7, the total principal transferred grew 19.8 percent to CAD6.6 billion, driven by our core business and the addition of La Nacional's U. S. Speaker 300:14:34And international business eye transfer. The average remittance within the U. S. Core Intermex business was consistent with the prior year. It was $4.54 up slightly from 1 year ago. Speaker 300:14:46In the consolidated business, the average send amount was down 4.7% for the quarter year over year At $4.29 per transaction. As mentioned before, this is due to structurally lower average transaction amounts At La Nacional and Itransfer. La Nacional averaged $2.98 per transaction and Itransfer $2.95 for the 3rd quarter. On Slide 8, total revenues company wide increased 22.5 percent year over year, reaching $172,400,000 during the 3 months. Excluding acquisitions, revenue growth in our core business was 5.8%, fueled by organic customer additions, Through new and existing agents and our successful pivot to capture incremental wires at lower margins than in the past. Speaker 300:15:33Again, we've seen an inflection point in our growth rate and are now anticipating transaction growth in our core at around 8% in the 4th quarter. Net income was impacted by a few key areas. Q3 last year benefited from a $2,900,000 tax benefit that did not recur In 2023, the year over year comparison was also challenged with $1,100,000 this quarter in restructuring costs for the Lenacel Now business, Absolutely the right investment as those actions are expected to improve the cost trajectory of that business immediately and resulting in about $1,500,000 savings annually. Higher interest rates on our credit facility, depreciation and amortizations of intangibles and a higher effective tax rate all kept GAAP net income growth in check. Net income was down 10.8 percent at $14,800,000 though GAAP EPS was better Down 4.7 percent to $0.41 per share aided by our share buybacks. Speaker 300:16:33We anticipate EPS to return to a growth trajectory in Q4. Looking at Slide 9, adjusted EBITDA increased 14% to $31,700,000 As anticipated, Even with our tactical pivot to capture incremental transactions, margins in the core business held up great at around 20%. Aggregate EBITDA margin was down as in the previous quarters, and this was heavily driven by structurally lower margins within the La Nacional acquisition. Adjusted net income was down 11.1 percent during the Q3 to $18,400,000 also impacted in Q3 last year By the $2,900,000 tax benefit that did not recur in 2023. Adjusted net income was impacted by the same underlying drivers as GAAP net income, But excludes items like share based compensation, transaction and restructuring related expenses, amortization of intangibles and the tax impacts related to those items. Speaker 300:17:30From an adjusted EPS perspective, we were down 5.6 percent to $0.51 per share. And as with GAAP EPS, we anticipate adjusted EPS to return to a growth trajectory in the Q4. Turning to the balance sheet on Slide 10. Intermex continues to be an efficient operator And cash generator. Net free cash generated, our internal measure, which excludes working capital cyclicality, was We expect this measure to revert to growth once again in Q4. Speaker 300:18:19During the quarter, we continue to be active in the market, purchasing 502,000 shares For $10,000,000 at an average price of $19.90 per share through the Board authorized repurchase program. We continue to see our buyback program as an excellent use of capital and anticipate remaining active. Finally, on Slide 11, Based on the improving metrics we're seeing in our operations, we're providing the following 4th quarter guidance. Revenues of $170,000,000 to $181,000,000 10% to 17% GAAP diluted EPS of $0.43 to $0.46 up 22% to 30% Adjusted diluted EPS of $0.51 to $0.54 up 6% to 12% and adjusted EBITDA of 31 $400,000 to $33,400,000 up 8% to 15%. In summary, we're pleased with the quarter and the growth we've delivered. Speaker 300:19:14Our retail execution pivot is paying dividends and we expect more of that in the Q4. This growth will continue to fund the exciting future ahead of us in digital, Europe and other products. With that, I'll turn it over to the operator for questions. Operator00:19:35We'll now begin the question and answer session. The first question comes from David Scharf with JMP. Please go ahead. Speaker 400:20:01Great. Good morning, everybody. Thanks for taking my questions. First off, Bob, I was kind of curious, I'm just looking at the first paragraph of your press release and it has the comment, We are ahead of schedule in our plans to capture incremental retail transactions in the U. S. Speaker 400:20:24And I just want to make sure I'm not overthinking that. Is that Sort of a very focused comment related to the core transaction growth that you expect in Q4 Speaker 200:20:36or Speaker 400:20:37is that a broader comment about just what you're seeing on the ground in terms of agent sign ups, Speaker 200:20:47It's a direct comment on what we produced in Q3 and what we expect to produce in 4th. If you recall on our guidance in terms of transaction growth, when we finished the 2nd quarter Earnings, we projected 5% growth and we delivered 6% in the quarter and it was increasing as the quarter ended. We expect higher growth, as I said in the prepared remarks, in Q4. Additionally, That's not really put a ding in our overall margins. So in Q3, where we grew transactions 6%. Speaker 200:21:25We actually grew our gross margin 7%, and that was due to a more effective way to price. So we really set aside our Core business and kept that stable and at the margins where we get incremental wires is where we're aggressive and that has been working really, really well. And We think we're well ahead of where we expected to be, both in terms of picking up more wires than we expected At least told the market that we would bring in, but also in the sense that the margins have held up and actually Produced a higher margin than transaction growth. Speaker 400:22:02Got it, got it. That's helpful. Hey, as a follow-up, I know last Quarter, the topic of increased pricing pressure to a lot of markets to Latin America was Sort of top of mind and you noted a little more maybe resiliency in some of the private discounters this time around. Can you provide just a Sort of broad update whether anything has changed or if kind of the existing pricing environment, Yes. Speaker 200:22:35I mean, I think that the big news for us is that we've adjusted to that well related to Our plan and the way we're going at the incremental growth. So regardless of where that pricing pressure is there, we're doing a really good job holding our base And keeping that at the high margins where that's been and then going out aggressively at incremental wires. But those incremental wires are still wires Coming in very profitable, just not at the same margins as the original wires would come in. But the adjusting that we've done becoming more efficient In our base business has again delivered a greater gross margin growth than transaction growth. Now I'm not trying to evade the question. Speaker 200:23:20I think there's always price discounters out there. I think it's the method which people think they grow the business. And I think that it kind of comes and goes. And I think as long as we're executing our plan the way we're executing today, We can work right through that. I think we now have the we're now well positioned with the way we're approaching the market relative to both pricing And attacking incremental wires to meet any challenges that pricing might bring to us. Speaker 400:23:50Got it. Just Last question, I kind of be remiss if I didn't ask sort of the general commentary on what you're seeing or expecting from Your consumers, I imagine with a flattish average send in your core business that inflation isn't impacting Remittance demand too much, but if there's any color you might want to provide. Speaker 200:24:15Yes. I think one of the big factors is the peso strengthened, So you don't need to send as many dollars to get as many pesos on the other side of the border. So that's going to be a big Countervailance to any inflation really, because we're thinking of inflation here, but yet you're now getting The peso is much stronger than it was previously, and that's going to cause people to be able to be able to send less to get the same amount of pesos on the other side of the border. So we're seeing it kind of flat right now, but it could go up if the peso started to weaken for instance. Speaker 400:24:51Got it, got it. Perfect. Great. Thank you very much. Operator00:24:54You're welcome. The next question is from Mike Grondahl with Northland Securities. Please go ahead. Speaker 500:25:03Hey, thanks guys and congratulations on the progress. Bob, you kind of talked On the last call about it like a targeted plan, I think one was These pricing offers to agents where you lost volume 2, you were targeting new agents 3, some pricing actions and 4, sort of new markets. Could you kind of rank where you've been the most Successful and where you think you still have a little bit of wood to chop on those four items? Speaker 200:25:43Yes. I think the place that we've been the most successful is going after opportunities where we've lost wires in the past Because of discounting and being able to go after those wires aggressively, still profitably, while protecting the base. So again, not going in if and I'll get in a little bit into the weeds here with you because it's I think the only way to really answer this. If an agent used to do 2,000 wires with This now does $500,000,000 We're really going to discount and give them a better pricing on wires 501 and up. So we're protecting that base. Speaker 200:26:16We're not decreasing the margin at that retailer on the core that they already have and certainly not in agent retailers where We haven't lost anything at all. The easiest thing to do and the mistake that the market makes, and we're happy most of our competitors do this, is they take Sort of a sickle to a surgical event, right? And they just go in and they lower their margin across The country, but we have a huge core of business that's performing quite well at the margins that we already have. And so that's been the best piece of that, and we have A lot more to do. That project is probably responsible for about a 1.5% lift on our trend line over the last few months. Speaker 200:26:58And we believe that we can continue that project producing that 50 basis points or so of lift month over month for a number of months still, Not into perpetuity, but clearly to bring our transaction growth numbers up quite a bit. New agents, I think is The total of new agents that we're bringing in is not as big as it's been in the past, but we've never really been focused on the number of agents as much as we are the Performance in the total amount of wires and the new agents have been performing quite well. And so that's been helpful. I think what was the other things you asked? I'm sorry, I want to make sure I touch on all the points. Speaker 500:27:39Yes. I think 3 was some You were looking at some pricing and maybe selectively able to increase it in certain markets and the last one was just any new markets that you've added or Speaker 200:27:51Yes. I mean the pricing, the macro pricing, we've thought better about. So we're not doing macro pricing and getting more Let's say, in a whole state like Arizona. Everything we're doing is rifle shots because that is really the key to us maintaining those margins and actually Extending our margins bigger than the growth of transactions. So I would say we haven't done much of the macro, if any, At all. Speaker 200:28:16And then new geographies, there's some states for us that are growing quite well. I won't name them that are not necessarily new because we've been in every state, but they are Underdeveloped states that we've made some turns in that have been helpful, mostly in the Western states. California is now Growing and the trend has turned around significantly, and there's a few other states out west that are performing quite well. And I'd be remiss if I didn't say that we're getting a significant lift In our overall number from our digital business. And I want to make sure that everybody is clear that we believe our omni channel approach is the absolute I mean, there's no blood in the street with our approach. Speaker 200:28:56We continue to throw off extremes amount of cash. We're highly profitable, and we're growing our digital business quite Well, the recent views on our app is that it's working quite well and it's amongst the best. And we're now Making on an individual unit economics basis money on wires on digital. Yes, still that acquisition of the customer is expensive, but we have this wonderful model at retail where we spend only about 7%, 7% of our gross margin to acquire a customer for our total sales and marketing costs compared to some of the moves that are out there if you're Strictly digital, how expensive that is. We really believe this model will prevail over time and the way to grow this business is to have that solid omni channel approach With the beachhead of retail and to grow digital from that perspective and it's working perfectly for us. Speaker 500:29:54Great, great. And then just secondly, any update on number of salespeople from say maybe July 1st To today to kind of what you're thinking about for next year? Speaker 200:30:07Yes. I mean, we have We looked at that. We have about 3 more salespeople than we had last time we spoke in the field, but we have put 6 folks In Guatemala, and we're going to put another 6 people in Guatemala that are basically part of our telemarketing program. And we have a much more extended reach because we can call about more people as you can imagine that we can visit in person. So those 6 people that we've added Are bringing us literally thousands of more customer contacts, meaning retailers on a monthly basis, and we're going to double that. Speaker 200:30:41We think that's The best way right now to extend our reach to more retailers on a daily basis, although we have grown our number of people actually on the ground at retail Buy 3 from Q2. Speaker 500:30:54Great. Hey, thanks a lot Bob and team. Operator00:30:57You're welcome. Next question is from Sam Silvas from Needham and Company. Please go ahead. Speaker 600:31:10Great. Thanks guys. Thanks for taking the questions here this morning and good to see the results. Just wanted to ask on competition. Are you guys seeing any changes in the competitive dynamics, whether it's on the retail or digital Business and could you just talk about that a little bit and how that's maybe evolved since last quarter? Speaker 200:31:35I don't believe there's any real evolution. I think people that have been discounters continue to be discounters. I think It's been our approach to it that's really changed. I think we've gotten this plan that we put in place that has been very intricate and that we're working every day related to preserving the base. It's almost like redundant to keep saying, but preserving that base, which is The solid base of wires that are really high margin and then going out aggressively where we've seen competitive infringement, people coming after Our wires, and it's working really well. Speaker 200:32:10So I don't think there's a big change. I think discounters have always been there. They're always going to be there. And over the years, we've held up really, really well consistently with our pricing. And Now, I think we're doing that even better than we have before because of how thinly we're slicing it and the ability to Really reverse the trend a bit, not anywhere near where we're necessarily happy with, but reversing the trend, bringing in higher growth than we had projected for 3rd Quarter transactionally, but doing that at a higher margin. Speaker 200:32:42So to me that kind of it says if we can apply ourselves properly on a zip code by zip code level with a right foot slot approach, we can combat against the discounting at retail quite well. On the digital side, I'll let Marcelo, would you like to comment on the pricing in digital, Youssine? Speaker 700:33:01Of course, our pricing has increased significantly, combining a better pricing strategy with a more efficient cost management. So per Bob's comment, I'm very confident we are for sure on the top of the profitability versus digital players, Which give us the foundation to grow and to have a better return on investment. Speaker 600:33:28Got it. That's super helpful color. Appreciate that. And then Just a quick follow-up. Obviously, you guys aren't providing any guidance for 2024, but I guess is there any Kind of color you guys could provide, whether it's around transaction expectations relative to the Q4 or the Q3? Speaker 600:33:51Yes. Any kind of preliminary thoughts kind of as we head into 'twenty four? Speaker 300:33:57Yes. I think this is Andrew. So I think not at this I think that we did mention that we will be doing an Investor Day that will be coming together in February, where we'll go through the year And results and also give a broader picture of our strategy and the financials that will come behind that. So not at this point. Speaker 200:34:17Yes. Speaker 600:34:18Okay. Yes, fair enough. All right. Thanks, guys. Operator00:34:45The last question comes from the line of Alex Margraf with KeyBanc Capital Markets. Please go ahead. Speaker 800:34:52Thank you and thanks for taking my question this morning. Just there's been a lot of Commentary on pricing and some of the observations this quarter. I'm just curious to kind of boil it down and maybe I'm oversimplifying it. But if I look at 1 of the model outputs being revenue per transaction fairly stable sequentially. Just curious if you all kind of think about this as the right level For the model, just for modeling purposes for the near term considering some of the industry level factors around pricing, the success you've had more recently and then just General mix of the business considering on Ascenal and Itransfer. Speaker 800:35:30Any thoughts on that would be helpful. Speaker 200:35:33Yes. I think we believe that We've made headway into being as we've been able to, on one side, be aggressive to go after incremental wires That it may have been lost to the competition previously. We've been really good at making sure that we're maximizing our margins related to Our base business in our stronghold areas. So I think where we are today is probably a really good view of where the revenue per transaction And margins would sit going forward. Obviously, that's not guaranteed because you're we're not guiding on that, but I would tell you that we think that we have A good perspective and a good strategy today that should carry us through the near term. Speaker 800:36:21Thank you. That's very helpful. And then just one on the product side. Thank you for the payroll and GPR comments. I think last quarter you had mentioned a payroll card upgrade launch later this year. Speaker 800:36:33Just any sort of updates or thoughts or kind of details as to what that entails would be helpful. Speaker 700:36:39Yes. The evolution of our payroll is happening. We are about to launch In 2 weeks, completely redesigned program that connects even more the card program with the wire sending product. I I think Andrew has mentioned in his notes that we are growing this cross sell 5 times, which is exactly what we are looking for Because then it makes an extremely profitable wire and still we make money out of the cards business. So that's the direction we Going in Q1, we are launching the DPI card, another huge cross sell opportunity for our retail. Speaker 700:37:16We know that our consumers are unbanked or Under service. So this will bring them to a very expanded reality regarding purchases in U. S. They can go to E commerce, they can go to subscription business, a bunch of services that they don't have access today and we believe they are head users Due to their situation in U. S. Speaker 800:37:41Great. Thank you. Operator00:37:49This concludes our question and answer session. Would like to turn the conference back over to Mike Galentine, Head of Investor Relations, for any closing remarks. Speaker 200:37:58Yes. Actually, this is Bob Lizzie. Thank you all for tuning in and your interest in the company. We'll look forward to talking to you all soon. Thanks again. Speaker 200:38:06Have a great day. Operator00:38:16The conference is now concluded. Thank you for attending today's presentation. You may now disconnect.Read moreRemove AdsPowered by