“Acquisitions are forecasted to have a minimal impact to this growth rate, while foreign exchange is expected to be a tailwind of approximately 1 ppt for the year, primarily due to the recent strengthening of the euro relative to U.S. dollar.”

In context

“regions have recovered and are well above 2019 levels in Q4. The exception is Asia, where there is still room to improve with China reopening. Just a little further context here. China represented about 1% of inbound cross-border travel volumes pre-pandemic in 2019. In Q4, this volume was at approximately 20% of Q4 2019 levels. Similarly, China represented about 2% of outbound cross-border travel volumes pre-pandemic in 2019. In Q4, this volume was at about 50% of Q4 2019 levels. With this in mind, our base case scenario for the full year 2023 is for net revenues to grow at the high end of a low-double-digit rate on a currency-neutral basis, excluding acquisitions and special items. This growth rate would be higher by approximately 1.5 ppt if you exclude Russia-related revenues from 2022. Acquisitions are forecasted to have a minimal impact to this growth rate, while foreign exchange is expected to be a tailwind of approximately 1 ppt for the year, primarily due to the recent strengthening of the euro relative to U.S. dollar. In terms of operating expenses, we will continue to carefully manage our expenses as we invest in our payments, services and new network priorities to drive short and long-term growth. For the year, we expect operating expenses to grow at the high end of a high-single-digit rate on a currency-neutral basis, excluding acquisitions and special items. Acquisitions are forecast to add about 0.5 of a ppt to this growth, while foreign exchange is expected to be a 1 ppt headwind for the year. Turning now to the first quarter. Year-over-year net revenue growth is expected to be at the low end of a low-double-digit rate, again, on a currency-neutral basis excluding acquisitions and special items and reflects generally resilient consumer spending. A couple of points to note. Q1 will be the last qua”