Hawaiian Electric Industries Reports 2017 Year-End & Fourth Quarter Earnings

HONOLULU, Feb. 14, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

Selected 2017 Highlights:

• Consolidated Reported net income of $165.3 million in 2017 vs $248.3 million in 2016, down 33% primarily due to the merger and spin-off related items in 2016 and the impact of the federal tax reform and related items in 2017
  Core net income of $179.5 million in 2017 vs $190.1 million in 2016, down 6%
• Consolidated Reported EPS of $1.52 in 2017 vs $2.29 in 2016, down 34%;
  Consolidated Core EPS of $1.65 in 2017 vs $1.75 in 2016, down 6%
• Consolidated Reported ROE of 7.9%; ConsolidatedCore ROE of 8.6%
• Utility Reported ROE of 6.6%; Utility Core ROE of 7.1%
• Bank Reported ROE of 11.3%
• Record 27% of electricity on Hawaiian Electric's grid was from renewable sources²
• Led the nation in customer-sited solar:  Largest annual increase of installed solar since 2013 with more than 100 megawatts of solar installed, up 19% from 2016
• 30% of single-family homes have installed or have been approved to install PV systems on Oahu, Maui and Hawaii Island
• Avoided-oil equivalent of 2.2 million barrels in 2017, saving our state more than $150 million³ in fuel cost

• Progress on key regulatory initiatives:
• Utility power supply improvement plan accepted by the public utilities commission (PUC); grid modernization plan accepted by the PUC in early 2018; community based renewable energy plan approved
• Received interim decisions on the Hawaiian Electric 2017 and Hawaii Electric Light 2016 rate cases; Maui Electric 2018 rate case filed
• Bank provided approximately $1.4 billion of credit to consumers and businesses and originated over 3,500 mortgages
• Bank broke ground on new Oahu bank-campus that will bring together approximately 600 teammates at one of the most innovative, collaborative and modern worksites in the state
• Bank named one of Hawaii Business Magazine's "Best Places to Work" for the 8th consecutive year
• Consolidated company contributed more than 23,000 volunteer hours and more than $2.4 million of charitable contributions to community organizations
• Continuation of uninterrupted dividends since 1901

Hawaiian Electric Industries, Inc. (NYSE: HE) (HEI) today reported 2017 year-end consolidated net income for common stock of $165.3 million and diluted earnings per share (EPS) of $1.52 compared to $248.3 million and EPS of $2.29 for 2016. For the fourth quarter of 2017, consolidated net income for common stock was $32.4 million and EPS of $0.30 compared to $44.6 million and EPS of $0.41 for the fourth quarter of 2016. The financial results for 2017 include $14.2 million for the reduction of the unregulated net deferred tax asset balances for the consolidated enterprise to reflect the lower rates enacted by federal tax reform and other tax reform related items, including the $1,000 cash bonuses paid to American Savings Bank employees, excluding the senior management team.  The financial results for 2016 include the increase to net income of $58.2 million due to the terminated merger with NextEra Energy, Inc., net of the impacts of the related terminated liquefied natural gas (LNG) contract and the associated cancelled spin-off of ASB Hawaii, Inc.  Excluding the above mentioned items, core earnings for 2017 were $179.5 million and core EPS of $1.65 compared to $190.1 million and $1.75, respectively, for 2016.

The financial results for the fourth quarter of 2017 include the impacts of federal tax reform and related items previously referenced.  Excluding these items, core earnings¹ for the fourth quarter of 2017 were $46.5 million and core EPS of $0.43 compared to $44.6 million and EPS of $0.41 for the fourth quarter of 2016.

"Hawaii's economy had a very strong year in 2017 and the HEI companies were proud to provide essential energy and financial services to our communities and to deliver a consolidated core return on equity of 8.6%," said Constance H. Lau, president and CEO of HEI.

"To help meet our electric company's mission to provide clean, reliable and resilient electric energy safely to our customers and to stay ahead of the needs of Hawaii's economic and real property development, we invested over $400 million (more than three times the utility's earnings) to modernize and strengthen the electric systems and grid on Oahu, Maui, Hawaii Island, Molokai and Lanai.  Hawaiian Electric and its subsidiaries have supported Hawaii's economic development while helping our state toward its goal of 100% renewable energy by 2045.  Hawaiian Electric continues to lead the nation in the efficient integration of renewable resources, which have nearly doubled on our islands in five years."

"American Savings Bank closed 2017 with a strong fourth quarter, and we are excited about the construction of its new campus in Honolulu. The bank is well positioned to continue to grow in 2018, as it works continually to deliver value to its customers and shareholders," said Lau.

HAWAIIAN ELECTRIC COMPANY

Full Year Results:

Hawaiian Electric Company's⁴ full-year 2017 net income was $120.0 million compared to $142.3 million in 2016.  Excluding the impact of federal tax reform in 2017 of $9.2 million in tax expense due primarily to the reduction of the unregulated net deferred tax asset balances, and 2016 after-tax costs related to the terminated merger with NextEra Energy, Inc. and the related terminated LNG contract totaling $2.1 million, Hawaiian Electric Company's core net income was $129.1 million in 2017 and $144.5 million in 2016.  The $15.4 million core net income decrease from the prior year was primarily driven by the following after-tax items:

• $5 million lower net revenues⁵ primarily due to the expiration of the Hawaii Public Utilities Commission-approved 2013 settlement agreement with the Consumer Advocate that had allowed Hawaiian Electric Company, Inc. to record annual rate adjustment mechanism revenues commencing January 1⁶ instead of June 1, partially offset by the recovery of costs for clean energy, reliability and system efficiency investments and Hawaii Electric Light's 2016 test year interim rate relief effective August 31, 2017; and
• $11 million higher O&M expenses⁷ compared to 2016, primarily due to higher overhaul and maintenance expenses, enterprise resource planning (ERP) costs, partial write-off of deferred geothermal RFP costs, grid modernization consultant costs and additional reserves for environmental costs, partially offset by higher power supply improvement consultant costs in 2016; and
• $3 million higher depreciation expense as a result of increasing investments for the integration of more renewable energy, improved customer reliability and greater system efficiency; partially offset by
• $5 million higher allowance for funds used during construction.

Fourth Quarter Results:

Fourth quarter 2017 net income of $25.4 million was $8.8 million lower than the fourth quarter of 2016 primarily driven by the $9.2 million higher tax expense due to federal tax reform.  $2 million (after-tax) higher net revenues in 2017 primarily attributable to the recovery of costs for clean energy, reliability and system efficiency investments and Hawaii Electric Light's 2016 test year interim rate relief were offset by higher other operations and maintenance expense primarily due to higher overhauls,

ERP and grid modernization costs in the fourth quarter of 2017.   Higher depreciation expense in the fourth quarter of 2017 as a result of increasing investments for the integration of more renewable energy, improved customer reliability and greater system efficiency was offset by higher allowance for funds used during construction.

AMERICAN SAVINGS BANK

Full Year Results:

American Savings Bank's (American) full-year 2017 net income was $67.0 million compared to $57.3 million in 2016. The $9.7 million increase from the prior year was primarily driven by the following after-tax items:

• $11 million higher net interest income driven primarily by strong deposit growth that funded earning asset growth in the investment and retail loan portfolios;
• $4 million lower provision for loan losses reflects the strategic decision to improve American's credit risk profile through the reduction in the syndicated national credit portfolio and resolution of specific problem loans, partially offset by reserves required for growth in the retail loan portfolio; and
• $1 million net positive impact of federal tax reform, including $1,000 cash bonuses to employees.

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

• $3 million higher noninterest expense primarily due to higher performance-based incentive costs, excluding $1,000 cash bonuses related to federal tax reform; and
• $3 million lower noninterest income primarily due to lower mortgage banking income.

Total loans were $4.7 billion at December 31, 2017, a decrease of $72 million or 1.5% decline from December 31, 2016.  This decrease reflects our work to improve American's credit risk profile through the strategic reduction in our exposure to national syndicated credits by $75 million as well as the resolution of specific problem loans.    

Total deposits were $5.9 billion at December 31, 2017, an increase of $342 million or 6.2% from December 31, 2016.  The average cost of funds was 0.21% for the full year 2017, down 2 basis points from the prior year. 

Overall, American's return on average equity⁸ for the full year remained solid at 11.20% in 2017 compared to 9.90% in 2016, and the return on average assets for the full year was 1.02% in 2017 compared to 0.92% in 2016.

Fourth Quarter Results:

Fourth quarter of 2017 net income of $16.9 million was $0.7 million lower than the third, or linked quarter and $0.6 million higher than the fourth quarter of 2016. 

Compared to the linked quarter of 2017, the $0.7 million net income decrease in the fourth quarter of 2017 was primarily driven by $2 million (after-tax) higher provision for loan losses principally related to the release of reserves in the linked quarter attributed to our strategic reduction of our syndicated national credit loan portfolio and the resolution of specific problem loans; partially offset by the $1 million (after-tax) favorable net impact of federal tax reform and related changes discussed above.

Compared to the fourth quarter of 2016, the $0.6 million higher net income in the fourth quarter of 2017 was primarily driven by $2 million (after-tax) higher net interest income mainly due to higher yields and growth in earning assets and the $1 million impact of the federal tax reform related changes discussed above.  These items were partially offset by $1 million (after-tax) higher provision for loan losses, $1 million (after-tax) lower noninterest income primarily due to lower mortgage banking income and $1 million (after-tax) higher noninterest expense.

American's fourth quarter of 2017 return on average equity⁸ was 11.09%, compared to 11.64% in the linked quarter and 11.09% in the fourth quarter of 2016.  Return on average assets was 1.01% for the fourth quarter of 2017, compared to 1.07% in the linked quarter and 1.02% in the same quarter last year.

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

HOLDING AND OTHER COMPANIES

The holding and other companies' net loss was $21.7 million in 2017 compared to net income of $48.7 million in 2016.  Excluding tax reform related tax expense of $6.0 million in 2017 and merger-related net income of $60.3 million in 2016, the holding and other companies' adjusted net loss was $15.7 million and $11.7 million in 2017 and 2016, respectively. The holding company's adjusted 2016 results included favorable tax adjustments as HEI moved out of a federal net operating loss position, enabling the recognition of tax benefits of approximately $4 million.

Fourth quarter net losses were $9.8 million in 2017 compared to $5.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2016.  Excluding tax reform related tax expense of $6.0 million in 2017, the holding and other companies' net losses in 2017 and 2016 were $3.9 million and $5.7 million, respectively. The higher 2016 net loss was primarily driven by an adjustment to tax benefits of approximately $2 million in the fourth quarter of 2016.

BOARD DECLARES QUARTERLY DIVIDEND

On February 1, 2018, the board of directors maintained HEI's quarterly cash dividend of $0.31 cents per share, payable on March 13, 2018, to shareholders of record at the close of business on February 22, 2018 (ex-dividend date is February 21, 2018).  The dividend is equivalent to an annual rate of $1.24 per share.

Dividends have been paid uninterrupted since 1901.  At the indicated annual dividend rate and the closing price per share on February 13, 2018 of $32.76, HEI's dividend yield is 3.8%.

WEBCAST AND CONFERENCE CALL

HEI TO ANNOUNCE 2018 EPS GUIDANCE IN EARNINGS CONFERENCE CALL

Hawaiian Electric Industries, Inc. will conduct a webcast and conference call to review its 2017 earnings on Wednesday, February 14, 2018, at 11:00 a.m. Hawaii time (4:00 p.m. Eastern time). HEI will announce 2018 EPS guidance during the scheduled webcast and conference call.

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 heading "Investor Relations."  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, 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 February 28, 2018, by dialing (877) 344-7529 or (412) 317-0088 and entering passcode: 10116187.

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 and 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.

NON-GAAP MEASURES

See "Explanation of HEI's Use of Certain Unaudited Non-GAAP Measures" and related reconciliations on pages 13 to 15 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 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 Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2017 and HEI's future 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 given the non-recurring nature of certain items.  Core earnings and other financial measures as presented here may not be comparable to similarly titled measures used by other companies.  The accompanying tables provide a reconciliation of reported GAAP¹ earnings to non-GAAP core earnings and the adjusted return on average common equity (ROACE) for HEI and the utility.

The reconciling adjustments from GAAP earnings to core earnings 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 termination of the liquefied natural gas (LNG) contract which required the 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.  In addition, the reconciling adjustments from GAAP earnings to core earnings also exclude the impact of the federal tax reform act due to the adjustment of the 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. Management has shown adjusted non-GAAP (core) net income, adjusted non-GAAP (core) diluted earnings per common share and adjusted non-GAAP (core) ROACE  in order to provide better comparability of core net income, EPS and ROACE between periods.

The accompanying table also provides the calculation of utility GAAP other operation and maintenance (O&M) expense adjusted for costs related to the terminated merger discussed above. "O&M-related net income neutral items" which are O&M expenses covered by specific surcharges or by third parties have also been excluded.  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.