TransUnion earnings fall due to mortgage declines, regulatory costs

TransUnion recorded lower first quarter earnings due to reduced home lending revenues and expenses from its battle with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, but its adjusted results nevertheless slightly exceeded some consensus estimates.

The consumer credit reporting agency earned $48 million during the period, compared to $128 million a year earlier and nearly $1.02 billion in the previous quarter. Revenue totaled $921.3 million, down from $698.9 million a year earlier and $790 during the last three months of 2021. 

Earnings per share, which were $0.93 when adjusted for non-recurring items, were 0.97% ahead of analysts’ consensus estimates in the first quarter, according to Google Finance. TransUnion’s revenue exceeded consensus estimates by 1.18%. 

The company plans to offset cyclical home lending declines through global business lines outside the mortgage industry. It also generates countercyclical mortgage revenues from servicing retention and risk management tools it offers in conjunction with FinLocker.

“We are raising our 2022 organic growth expectations, with non-mortgage performance more than offsetting an expected 25% decline in U.S. mortgage revenues due to 30% inquiry declines,” President and CEO Chris Cartwright said in a press release.

However, the company warned that its legal and regulatory costs related to its dispute with the CFPB are mounting. The company has been battling allegations that it violated a 2017 order to stop misleading customers about credit reporting and monitoring services, and that it has failed to disclose recurring charges for these services. The bureau recently added the name of a former top executive to related litigation. TransUnion’s accrued liability connected to the matter more than doubled in the first quarter, rising to $56 million from $26.5 million as of Dec. 31, 2021.

“There is a reasonable possibility that a loss in excess of the amount accrued may be incurred, and such an outcome could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition,” the company said in its press release.