HEI Reports First Quarter 2018 Earnings

HONOLULU, May 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Hawaiian Electric Industries, Inc. (NYSE: HE) (HEI) today reported consolidated net income for common stock for the first quarter of 2018 of $40.2 million and diluted earnings per share (EPS) of $0.37 compared to $34.2 million and EPS of $0.31 for the first quarter of 2017. 

"We are pleased to report solid earnings for the first quarter of 2018 from both our bank and utility," said Constance H. Lau, president and CEO of HEI.

"In the first quarter, our utility worked with the Hawaii Public Utilities Commission to give the net benefits from tax reform to utility customers, including approximately $9 million for the first quarter alone. Our Commission also opened a performance-based ratemaking proceeding that establishes a collaborative, deliberative process allowing for stakeholder and expert input to help accelerate Hawaii's move to 100% clean energy.   Moving forward we are focused on our role in creating resilient, sustainable communities through technology, smart use of resources, building partnerships, and providing more value to customers."

"American Savings Bank's first quarter results included the highest quarterly net income in its history, reflecting higher net interest margin, good deposit and loan growth and the benefits of tax reform for the bank, including lower tax expense and higher wage rates for entry level and lower wage positions. We continue to work hard to deliver value for our customers as the bank's profitability improves," said Lau.

HAWAIIAN ELECTRIC COMPANY EARNINGS
Hawaiian Electric Company's¹ net income for the first quarter of 2018 was $27.5 million compared to $21.5 million in the first quarter of 2017, primarily driven by the following after-tax items:

• $11 million higher rate adjustment mechanism (RAM) revenues, primarily due to lower revenues in the first quarter of 2017 because of the return in 2017 to recording Oahu RAM revenues for accounting purposes on a lagged basis beginning June 1, 2017, instead of on a calendar year basis;
• $5 million of interim rate relief from Hawaii Electric Light's 2016 test year interim rates effective August 31, 2017 and Hawaiian Electric's 2017 test year interim rates effective February 16, 2018; and
• $1 million higher allowance for funds used during construction mainly from the Schofield Generating Station project expected to be completed in the second quarter.

These items were partially offset by the following after-tax items:

• $7 million higher O&M expenses² compared to 2017, primarily due to the reset of pension costs as part of rate case interim decisions, higher overhaul costs for generation, a write-off of smart grid costs, and a one-time rent expense adjustment for existing substation land, partially offset by the additional reserve for environmental costs in 2017;
• $2 million higher depreciation expense as a result of increasing investments for the integration of more renewable energy, improved customer reliability and greater system efficiency; and
• $2 million lower net income, primarily representing accrued first quarter 2018 tax reform net benefits deferred (and to be returned to customers) that are higher than the reduction in first quarter income tax expense related to lower federal corporate tax rates.

AMERICAN SAVINGS BANK EARNINGS
American Savings Bank's (American) first quarter of 2018 net income was $19.0 million compared to $16.9 million in the fourth, or linked, quarter and $15.8 million in the prior year quarter. 

Compared to the linked quarter of 2017, the $2.1 million net income increase in the first quarter of 2018 was primarily driven by higher net interest income, which was mainly due to higher yields on earning assets and strong deposit growth that funded increases in the investment and retail portfolios.  The first quarter also included approximately $3 million in tax benefits resulting from lower federal corporate tax rates, compared to the one-time tax benefit of $1.7 million recognized in the linked quarter. In the linked quarter, American passed on approximately $1 million of increased compensation to its employees through a $1,000 cash bonus paid in December 2017.  Beginning in 2018, American increased the wage rates for entry level and lower wage positions.

Compared to the first quarter of 2017, the $3.1 million higher net income was primarily driven by higher net interest income as discussed above for the linked quarter, partially offset by lower noninterest income. Noninterest expense in the first quarter of 2018 was higher compared to the first quarter of 2017 due to higher compensation and benefit expense, reflecting a higher minimum wage for employees along with higher performance-based incentives and annual merit increases, which was substantially offset by the tax benefits resulting from lower federal corporate tax rates.

Total loans were $4.7 billion at March 31, 2018, up $71 million or 6.1% annualized, driven mainly by increases in commercial and commercial real estate loans of $63 million compared to December 31, 2017.  

Total deposits were $6.1 billion at March 31, 2018, an increase of $188 million or 12.8% annualized from December 31, 2017, including approximately $100 million in repurchase agreements that were transferred into deposit accounts. Excluding such transfers, total deposits increased by 6.0% annualized. The average cost of funds was 0.23% for the first quarter of 2018, up 2 basis points from the linked quarter and up 3 basis points from the prior year quarter.

American's first quarter of 2018 return on average equity³ was 12.58%, compared to 11.09% in the linked quarter and 10.82% in the first quarter of 2017.  Return on average assets was 1.12% for the first quarter of 2018, compared to 1.01% in the linked quarter and 0.98% in the same quarter last year.

Please refer to American's news release issued on April 30, 2018 for additional information on American.

HOLDING AND OTHER COMPANIES
The holding and other companies' net loss was $6.2 million in the first quarter of 2018 compared to $3.1 million in the prior year quarter.  The higher net loss was primarily driven by the impact of federal tax reform, which negatively impacted the holding and other companies by approximately $1 million in the first quarter of 2018 due to lower tax benefits on expenses resulting from a lower corporate federal tax rate, higher interest expense due to higher interest rates and additional debt related to Pacific Current investments, and higher excess tax benefits associated with share-based awards in the first quarter of 2017 as compared to the first quarter of 2018.  

BOARD DECLARES QUARTERLY DIVIDEND
On May 9, 2018, the board of directors maintained HEI's quarterly cash dividend of $0.31 per share, payable on June 12, 2018, to shareholders of record at the close of business on May 23, 2018 (ex-dividend date is May 22, 2018).  The dividend would be equivalent to an annual rate of $1.24 per share.

Dividends have been paid uninterrupted since 1901.  At the indicated annual dividend rate and based on the closing price per share on May 9, 2018 of $33.87, HEI's dividend yield is 3.7%.

WEBCAST AND CONFERENCE CALL TO DISCUSS EARNINGS AND EPS GUIDANCE
Hawaiian Electric Industries, Inc. will conduct a webcast and conference call to review its first quarter 2018 earnings and 2018 EPS guidance on Thursday, May 10, 2018, at 7:30 a.m.Hawaii time (1:30 p.m. Eastern time).

Interested parties within the United States may listen to the conference by calling (844) 834-0652 and international parties may listen to the conference by calling (412) 317-5198 or by accessing the webcast on HEI's website under the "Investor Relations" section, sub-heading "News and Events."  HEI and Hawaiian Electric Company intend to continue to use HEI's website, www.hei.com, as a means of disclosing additional information. Such disclosures will be included on HEI's website in the Investor Relations section. Accordingly, investors should routinely monitor such portions of HEI's website, in addition to following HEI's, Hawaiian Electric Company's and American's press releases, HEI's and Hawaiian Electric Company's Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings and HEI's public conference calls and webcasts. The information on HEI's website is not incorporated by reference in this document or in HEI's and Hawaiian Electric Company's SEC filings unless, and except to the extent, specifically incorporated by reference. Investors may also wish to refer to the Public Utilities Commission of the State of Hawaii (PUC) website at dms.puc.hawaii.gov/dms in order to review documents filed with and issued by the PUC. No information on the PUC website is incorporated by reference in this document or in HEI's and Hawaiian Electric Company's SEC filings.

An online replay of the webcast will be available at www.hei.com beginning about two hours after the event. Replays of the conference call will also be available approximately two hours after the event through May 24, 2018, by dialing (877) 344-7529 or (412) 317-0088 and entering passcode: 10119007.

HEI supplies power to approximately 95% of Hawaii's population through its electric utilities, Hawaiian Electric Company, Inc., Hawaii Electric Light Company, Inc. and Maui Electric Company, Limited; provides a wide array of banking and other financial services to consumers and businesses through American Savings Bank, one of Hawaii's largest financial institutions; and helps advance Hawaii's clean energy and sustainability goals through investments by its non-regulated subsidiary, Pacific Current, LLC.

NON-GAAP MEASURES
See "Explanation of HEI's Use of Certain Unaudited Non-GAAP Measures" and related reconciliations on page 10 of this release.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This release may contain "forward-looking statements," which include statements that are predictive in nature, depend upon or refer to future events or conditions, and usually include words such as "will," "expects," "anticipates," "intends," "plans," "believes," "predicts," "estimates" or similar expressions. In addition, any statements concerning future financial performance, ongoing business strategies or prospects or possible future actions are also forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on current expectations and projections about future events and are subject to risks, uncertainties and the accuracy of assumptions concerning HEI and its subsidiaries, the performance of the industries in which they do business and economic, political and market factors, among other things. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance.

Forward-looking statements in this release should be read in conjunction with the "Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements" and "Risk Factors" discussions (which are incorporated by reference herein) set forth in HEI's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2017 and HEI's other periodic reports that discuss important factors that could cause HEI's results to differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of the report, presentation or filing in which they are made. Except to the extent required by the federal securities laws, HEI, Hawaiian Electric Company, American and their subsidiaries undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

EXPLANATION OF HEI'S USE OF CERTAIN UNAUDITED NON-GAAP MEASURES
HEI and Hawaiian Electric Company management use certain non-GAAP measures to evaluate the performance of HEI and the utility.  Management believes these non-GAAP measures provide useful information and are a better indicator of the companies' core operating activities than the corresponding GAAP measures given the non-recurring nature of certain items.  Non-GAAP core measures presented here may not be comparable to similarly titled measures used by other companies.  The accompanying tables provide the return on average common equity (ROACE) and adjusted non-GAAP core ROACE for HEI and the utility.

The reconciling adjustments from GAAP earnings to core earnings used in the calculation of the twelve months ended March 31, 2017 ROACE include income, costs and associated taxes related to the terminated merger between HEI and NextEra Energy, Inc., the cancelled spin-off of ASB Hawaii, Inc. and the terminated liquefied natural gas contract which, to remain in effect, required Hawaii Public Utilities Commission approval of the merger with NextEra Energy, Inc.  For more information on the transactions, see HEI's Form 8-K filed on July 18, 2016, and HEI's Form 8-K filed on July 19, 2016.  The reconciling adjustments from GAAP earnings to core earnings used in the calculation of the twelve months ended March 31, 2018 ROACE exclude the impact of the federal tax reform act recorded in the fourth quarter of 2017 due to the adjustment of deferred tax balances and the $1,000 employee bonuses paid by the bank related to federal tax reform.  Management does not consider these items to be representative of the company's fundamental core earnings and has shown the non-GAAP (core) ROACE in order to provide better comparability between periods.

The accompanying table also provides the calculation of utility GAAP other operation and maintenance (O&M) expense adjusted for "O&M-related net income neutral items," which are O&M expenses covered by specific surcharges or by third parties.  These "O&M-related net income neutral items" are grossed-up in revenue and expense and do not impact net income.

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SOURCE Hawaiian Electric Industries, Inc.