UK's Travelex expects 25 million sterling hit due to cyber attack

(Reuters) - Currency service provider Travelex on Monday estimated a 25- million-pound ($32 million) hit to its first-quarter underlying core earnings from a ransomware attack in late December, and said it had restored all its customer-facing systems.

The company, owned by UK-listed payments group Finablr <FINF.L>, said the coronavirus outbreak is another negative for its business, which has heavy exposure to airports and travel demand.

"While China and other Asian in-country revenue account for approximately 10% of Travelex revenues, other markets closely linked to Asian outbound travel are also experiencing headwinds," Travelex said in a statement.

But the company did not forecast any financial hit from the virus, which has so far killed about 3,000 people and disrupted global business supply chains and travel demand.

Shares of Finablr trimmed some gains to trade up 0.6% by 0945 GMT.

Travelex provides forex services for customers of HSBC <HSBA.L>, Barclays <BARC.L>, Virgin Money <VMUK.L> and the banking arms of British retailers Tesco <TSCO.L> and Sainsbury <SBRY.L> through its automated order placement service.

Travelex said the cyber attack, which was disclosed in early January, will not have any material impact on trading during subsequent quarters.

The attack had forced the company to take all its systems offline, causing havoc for New Year holidaymakers and business travellers seeking online currency services.

(Reporting by Muvija M in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)