In EFT, prior to COVID, our financial results were largely tied to how many people traveled in Europe during the summer months. While the travelers are still important to our annual results, we are seeing the diversification of our revenue and earnings contributions from non-tourist-related ATM transactions in Europe, from ATM transactions in new markets outside of Europe, and POS transactions in our merchant acquiring business, and the benefit of new acquisitions such as Infintium.

Jul 19, 2024 / CEO / receipt, needs a key / Mike Brown, CEO | earnings call 2024-07-19 | transcript 3ebb70a0-8452-4822-9093-250520d98a40 | chars 7716-8203 | segment 7

We have realized success in several new markets around the globe. Investments we made during the pandemic and over the last few years are paying off very well in 2024. Now a few examples of what contributed to the quarterly results. We discussed the merchant services business as a key strategic acquisition. So how did it perform in the first quarter of 2024? Well, let me tell you. EVA. grew nearly 40% compared to the prior year first quarter. This is a great example of how our management team continues to capitalize on strategic growth opportunities. We're adding new ATMs and new markets outside of Europe over the last few years. Our largest of these is the Philippines. We opened the Philippines in late 2019, and we saw very impressive results until COVID hit. We didn't believe that COVID would last forever, so we grew our ATM estate even with weak travel numbers through 2023. Now that travel has seen a significant recovery there, our first quarter 2024 EBITDA grew 151% compared to the first quarter of 2023.

May 1, 2024 / CEO / receipt, needs a key / Mike Brown, CEO | earnings call 2024-05-01 | transcript 347c9565-92c7-48f8-9642-a70451cb5291 | chars 13844-14867 | segment 13

You might remember that in the summer of 2023, we saw inflation in Europe taking a bite out of the spend for holiday travel. 2023's reduced spend per tourist was a surprise to us, just as it was to the credit and debit card acquirers throughout Europe. What you can see by this graph is the easing of inflation and wage growth this year and projected forward. And the fact is, none of us know exactly what this summer will bring, so we have to temper our enthusiasm a bit, but the data points are all pointing north. You can see that wages continue to grow while inflation has continued to decline. Coupled with more money in holiday travelers' pockets, we anticipate an optimistic outlook for travel and travel spend. Along with this trend in wage growth and easing of inflation, we have seen several positive travel reports predicting growth in international travel in the spring and summer travel seasons.

May 1, 2024 / CEO / receipt, needs a key / Mike Brown, CEO | earnings call 2024-05-01 | transcript 347c9565-92c7-48f8-9642-a70451cb5291 | chars 10873-11781 | segment 10

And I can look forward to growth across all three segments in 2024 because of the momentum we gained in the fourth quarter, along with several strong drivers that are in place, which include Inflationary pressures are easing while wages are growing as we look forward to the 2024 travel season. We see opportunities for pricing increases, particularly in the EFT segment.

Feb 7, 2024 / CEO / receipt, needs a key / Mike Brown, CEO | earnings call 2024-02-07 | transcript 0882fb3e-e925-4223-9309-64f1700fb8f5 | chars 9929-10300 | segment 9

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, in an update to the Consumer Behavior Survey that we showed you in the second quarter of last year, 71% of Europeans surveyed today say that they will increase or maintain their travel budget going into 2024. This further supports our optimism for the upcoming travel season, since this is the opposite of the same survey done in June of last year, where two-thirds of the respondents said they were going to decrease their travel spend during 2023.

Feb 7, 2024 / CEO / receipt, needs a key / Mike Brown, CEO | earnings call 2024-02-07 | transcript 0882fb3e-e925-4223-9309-64f1700fb8f5 | chars 12717-13205 | segment 12

All indicators now are pointing to easing inflation, lower travel costs, and improving wage trends, which together with our new market expansion and product diversification really drive our optimistic outlook for 2024.

Feb 7, 2024 / CEO / receipt, needs a key / Mike Brown, CEO | earnings call 2024-02-07 | transcript 0882fb3e-e925-4223-9309-64f1700fb8f5 | chars 13380-13598 | segment 13

We have tried to understand the abrupt change in the European cardholder behavior. And we found a range of evidence that suggests that the economic impact caused by the war in Ukraine, together with a sharp rise in the major cost components of a vacation, which of course are airfare and hotels, leaves less discretionary income to spend on ancillary activities for which people use cash.

Jul 26, 2023 / CEO / receipt, needs a key / Mike Brown, CEO | earnings call 2023-07-26 | transcript 2df82389-c4bb-489b-b22b-ec0da61ec619 | chars 11765-12153 | segment 11

There are a variety of sources from which to gather data, but according to USA Today, the cost of airfare is up 34% since last year, and several travel sites indicate that the cost of hotels in key cities in Europe are up 25% to 30% range over last year.

Jul 26, 2023 / CEO / receipt, needs a key / Mike Brown, CEO | earnings call 2023-07-26 | transcript 2df82389-c4bb-489b-b22b-ec0da61ec619 | chars 12154-12408 | segment 12

The ETC survey also says that 14% of the respondents would opt for more affordable destinations. As an example, according to the study, since March, of the increase in responders who indicated that they would travel, 12% plan to visit places outside of Europe to stretch their budget.

Jul 26, 2023 / CEO / receipt, needs a key / Mike Brown, CEO | earnings call 2023-07-26 | transcript 2df82389-c4bb-489b-b22b-ec0da61ec619 | chars 13022-13306 | segment 12

Accordingly, we believe the primary driver for the decrease in international transactions is that tourists have less money available to withdraw due to increases in their day-to-day cost of living, together with the increases in cost of airfare and accommodation.

Jul 26, 2023 / CEO / receipt, needs a key / Mike Brown, CEO | earnings call 2023-07-26 | transcript 2df82389-c4bb-489b-b22b-ec0da61ec619 | chars 14747-15010 | segment 14