First Data Income Rises 11%; Western Union Business Hit by Immigration Controversy

First Data Corp. reported increased earnings for the second quarter of 2006 on Thursday, but also cautioned that the immigration debate in the U.S. has weakened its Western Union money-transfer unit.

The company reported net income of $436.4 million, up from $391 million from Q2 2005. Revenue was up 10% to $2.87 billion.

But in the earnings release, First Data warned that the current debate over immigration in the U.S. has hurt the Western Union unit and that continued debate would hurt it in the future.

“If U.S. immigration issues continue to impact the Western Union business at the same rate in the second half of the year, we would expect to deliver full-year earnings per share at the low end of the range,” said Ric Duques, chairman and CEO of First Data.

Western Union?s business relies somewhat on U.S. overseas workers sending money home.