• Net income of $68.0 million or $0.49 per diluted share and core net income¹ of $68.3 million, or $0.49 per diluted share
• 1.35% return on average total assets and 1.43% core return on average tangible assets¹
• 11.02% return on average total equity and 18.40% core return on average tangible common equity¹
• 48.1% efficiency ratio
• The Board of Directors declared a dividend of $0.24 per share.

HONOLULU, April 26, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- First Hawaiian, Inc. (NASDAQ:FHB), (the “Company”) today reported financial results for its first quarter ended March 31, 2018.

“We are very pleased with our performance in the first quarter,” said Bob Harrison, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.  “We had strong earnings driven by good loan growth, margin expansion, excellent asset quality, and an effective tax rate in line with our expectations.  We have been very focused on managing expenses, which resulted in an efficiency ratio of 48.1%.  At quarter end, the bank remained well capitalized with a tier 1 capital ratio of 12.73%, a total capital ratio of 13.77%, and a tier 1 leverage ratio of 8.71%.”

On April 25, 2018, the Company’s Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.24 per share.  The dividend will be payable on June 8, 2018 to shareholders of record at the close of business on May 29, 2018.

Earnings Highlights

Net income for the quarter ended March 31, 2018 was $68.0 million, or $0.49 per diluted share, compared to $11.7 million, or $0.08 per diluted share, for the quarter ended December 31, 2017, and $56.7 million, or $0.41 per diluted share, for the quarter ended March 31, 2017.  Core net income¹ for the quarter ended March 31, 2018 was $68.3 million, or $0.49 per diluted share, compared to $59.2 million, or $0.42 per diluted share, for the quarter ended December 31, 2017, and $57.0 million, or $0.41 per diluted share, for the quarter ended March 31, 2017.

Net interest income for the quarter ended March 31, 2018 was $139.7 million, an increase of $4.8 million compared to $134.9 million for the quarter ended December 31, 2017, and an increase of $10.3 million compared to $129.3 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2017.  The increase in net interest income compared to the fourth quarter of 2017 was due to higher average balances of loans and interest-bearing deposits in other banks, and higher yields on loans and investment securities, partially offset by higher rates on deposits.  The increase in net interest income compared to the first quarter of 2017 was due to higher average balances of loans and higher yields on loans, interest-bearing deposits in other banks, and investment securities, partially offset by higher rates on deposits.

¹ A non-GAAP measure. For more information on these measures, including reconciliation to the most directly comparable GAAP measure, see “Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures” and Tables 11 and 12 at the end of this document.

Net interest margin (“NIM”) was 3.13%, 2.99% and 3.00%, for the quarters ended March 31, 2018, December 31, 2017, and March 31, 2017, respectively.  The 14 basis point increase in NIM versus the prior quarter was due to increased overall yields on earnings assets, a positive $1.9 million premium amortization adjustment, and the impact of the short quarter, partially offset by higher deposit costs.  Excluding the premium amortization adjustment and the impact of the short quarter, the annualized NIM would have been approximately 3.03% for the quarter ended March 31, 2018.

Results for the quarter ended March 31, 2018 included a provision for credit losses of $6.0 million compared to $5.1 million in the quarter ended December 31, 2017 and $4.5 million in the quarter ended March 31, 2017.    

Noninterest income was $48.7 million in the quarter ended March 31, 2018, a decrease of $5.6 million compared to noninterest income of $54.3 million in the quarter ended December 31, 2017 and a decrease of $2.4 million compared to noninterest income of $51.1 million in the quarter ended March 31, 2017.    The decrease in noninterest income compared to the fourth quarter of 2017 was primarily due to $5.9 million lower other income.  Other income in the fourth quarter of 2017 quarter included a $4.3 million gain on sale of bank property and $3.7 million related to intercompany taxes.  The decrease in noninterest income compared to the first quarter of 2017 was primarily due to $2.5 million lower bank-owned life insurance (BOLI) income, $1.4 million lower service charges on deposit accounts and $0.8 million lower credit and debit card fees, partially offset by $1.3 million higher other income and $0.9 million higher trust and investment services income.  The first quarter of 2017 also included proceeds of $1.3 million from BOLI death benefits.

Noninterest expense was $90.6 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2018, an increase of $0.7 million from $89.9 million in the quarter ended December 31, 2017, and an increase of $4.6 million from $86.0 million in the quarter ended March 31, 2017.  The increase in noninterest expense compared to the fourth quarter of 2017 was primarily due to $1.0 million higher other expenses, $0.8 million higher contracted services and professional fees, $0.4 million higher occupancy expenses, $0.3 million higher regulatory assessments and fees and $0.2 million higher equipment expenses, partially offset by $1.5 million lower salaries and employee benefits and $0.5 million lower cards rewards program expenses.  Salaries and benefits in the fourth quarter included a $3.4 million expense due to bonuses awarded to virtually all employees following the passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.  The increase in noninterest expense compared to the first quarter of 2017 was primarily due to $2.0 million higher contracted services and professional fees, a $1.8 million increase in salaries and benefits, $0.8 million higher occupancy expenses, and $0.6 million higher other expenses, partially offset by $1.1 million lower advertising and marketing expenses.

The efficiency ratio was 48.1%, 47.5% and 47.7% for the quarters ended March 31, 2018, December 31, 2017 and March 31, 2017, respectively.

The effective tax rate for the first quarter of 2018 was 26.0% compared to 87.6% in the fourth quarter of 2017 and 36.9% in the same quarter last year.  The lower effective tax rate in the first quarter of 2018 compared to the previous quarter and the same quarter last year was due to the lower corporate tax rate resulting from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.  The provision for taxes in the fourth quarter of 2017 included a $47.6 million charge due to the revaluation of certain tax-related assets at the projected lower corporate tax rate resulting from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.  Excluding the one-time charge, the effective tax rate for the fourth quarter of 2017 was 37.1%.

Balance Sheet Highlights

Total assets were $20.2 billion at March 31, 2018, compared to $20.5 billion at December 31, 2017 and $19.8 billion at March 31, 2017.

The investment securities portfolio was $5.1 billion at March 31, 2018, compared to $5.2 billion at December 31, 2017 and $5.3 billion at March 31, 2017.  The portfolio remains largely comprised of securities issued by U. S. government agencies.

Total loans and leases were $12.5 billion at March 31, 2018, up 1.5%, from $12.3 billion at December 31, 2017 and up 5.8% from $11.8 billion at March 31, 2017.

The growth in loans and leases in the first quarter of 2018 compared to the fourth quarter of 2017 was led by increases in commercial and industrial loans (C&I) of $83.9 million, commercial real estate loans of $71.0 million, residential real estate loans of $66.0 million, and consumer loans of $9.5 million.  Construction loans declined by $38.6 million, primarily due to the completion of several large commercial construction projects.  Compared to March 31, 2017, the growth in loans and leases was due to increases in residential real estate loans of $291.5 million, commercial real estate loans of $206.3 million, construction loans of $124.5 million and consumer loans of $92.9 million.  C&I loans declined by $24.3 million.

Total deposits were $17.4 billion at March 31, 2018, a decrease of $0.2 billion, or 1.4%, from $17.6 billion at December 31, 2017, and an increase of $0.4 billion, or 2.5%, compared to $16.9 billion at March 31, 2017. 

Asset Quality

The Company's asset quality remained excellent during the first quarter of 2018. Total non-performing assets were $12.1 million, or 0.10% of total loans and leases and other real estate owned, at March 31, 2018, compared to non-performing assets of $10.2 million, or 0.08% of total loans and leases and other real estate owned, at December 31, 2017 and non­-performing assets of $7.7 million, or 0.07% of total loans and leases and other real estate owned, at March 31, 2017.

Net charge offs for the quarter ended March 31, 2018 were $4.6 million, or 0.15% of average loans and leases on an annualized basis, compared to $5.2 million, or 0.17% of average loans and leases on an annualized basis for the quarter ended December 31, 2017 and $4.1 million, or 0.15% of average loans and leases on an annualized basis for the quarter ended March 31, 2017.

The ratio of the allowance for loan and lease losses to total loans and leases was 1.11% at March 31, 2018 compared to 1.12% at December 31, 2017 and 1.15% at March 31, 2017. 

Capital

Total stockholders' equity was $2.5 billion at March 31, 2018, December 31, 2017 and March 31, 2017.   

The tier 1 leverage, common equity tier 1, and total capital ratios were 8.71%, 12.73% and 13.77%, respectively, at March 31, 2018, compared with 8.52%, 12.45% and 13.50% at December 31, 2017 and 8.52%, 12.78% and 13.87% at March 31, 2017. 

First Hawaiian, Inc. 

First Hawaiian, Inc. (NASDAQ:FHB) is a bank holding company headquartered in Honolulu, Hawaii.  Its principal subsidiary, First Hawaiian Bank, founded in 1858 under the name Bishop & Company, is Hawaii’s oldest and largest financial institution with branch locations throughout Hawaii, Guam and Saipan. The company offers a comprehensive suite of banking services to consumer and commercial customers including deposit products, loans, wealth management, insurance, trust, retirement planning, credit card and merchant processing services.  Customers may also access their accounts through ATMs, online and mobile banking channels. For more information about First Hawaiian, Inc., visit the Company’s website, www.fhb.com.

Conference Call Information

First Hawaiian will host a conference call to discuss the Company’s results today at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time, 11:00 a.m. Hawaii Time.  To access the call, participants should dial (844) 452-2942 (US/Canada), or (574) 990-9846 (International) ten minutes prior to the start of the call and enter the conference ID:  8467599.  A live webcast of the conference call, including a slide presentation, will be available at the following link:  www.fhb.com/earnings.  The archive of the webcast will be available at the same location.  A telephonic replay of the conference call will be available two hours after the conclusion of the call until 8:30 p.m. (Eastern Time) on May 6, 2018.  Access the replay by dialing (855) 859-2056 or (404) 537-3406 and entering the conference ID:  8467599.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.  These forward-looking statements reflect our current views with respect to, among other things, future events and our financial performance. These statements are often, but not always, made through the use of words or phrases such as “may”, “might”, “should”, “could”, “predict”, “potential”, “believe”, “expect”, “continue”, “will”, “anticipate”, “seek”, “estimate”, “intend”, “plan”, “projection”, “would”, “annualized” and “outlook”, or the negative version of those words or other comparable words or phrases of a future or forward-looking nature. These forward-looking statements are not historical facts, and are based on current expectations, estimates and projections about our industry, management's beliefs and certain assumptions made by management, many of which, by their nature, are inherently uncertain and beyond our control. Accordingly, we caution you that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to risks, assumptions, estimates and uncertainties that are difficult to predict. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable as of the date made, actual results may prove to be materially different from the results expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. For a discussion of some of the risks and important factors that could affect our future results and financial condition, see our U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) filings, including, but not limited to, our annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2017.

Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures

We present net interest income, noninterest income, noninterest expense, net income, earnings per share and the related ratios described below, on an adjusted, or ‘‘core,’’ basis, each a non-GAAP financial measure. These core measures exclude from the corresponding GAAP measure the impact of certain items that we do not believe are representative of our financial results. We believe that the presentation of these non-GAAP financial measures helps identify underlying trends in our business from period to period that could otherwise be distorted by the effect of certain expenses, gains and other items included in our operating results. We believe that these core measures provide useful information about our operating results and enhance the overall understanding of our past performance and future performance.  Investors should consider our performance and financial condition as reported under GAAP and all other relevant information when assessing our performance or financial condition. 

Core net interest margin, core return on average total assets and core return on average total stockholders’ equity are non-GAAP financial measures. We compute our core net interest margin as the ratio of core net interest income to average earning assets.  We compute our core return on average total assets as the ratio of core net income to average total assets.  We compute our core return on average total stockholders’ equity as the ratio of core net income to average stockholders’ equity. 

Return on average tangible stockholders’ equity, core return on average tangible stockholders’ equity, return on average tangible assets, core return on average tangible assets and tangible stockholders’ equity to tangible assets are non-GAAP financial measures. We compute our return on average tangible stockholders’ equity as the ratio of net income to average tangible stockholders’ equity, which is calculated by subtracting (and thereby effectively excluding) amounts related to the effect of goodwill from our average total stockholders’ equity. We compute our core return on average tangible stockholders’ equity as the ratio of core net income to average tangible stockholders’ equity, which is calculated by subtracting (and thereby effectively excluding) amounts related to the effect of goodwill from our average total stockholders’ equity. We compute our return on average tangible assets as the ratio of net income to average tangible assets, which is calculated by subtracting (and thereby effectively excluding) amounts related to the effect of goodwill from our average total assets. We compute our core return on average tangible assets as the ratio of core net income to average tangible assets. We compute our tangible stockholders’ equity to tangible assets as the ratio of tangible stockholders’ equity to tangible assets, each of which we calculate by subtracting (and thereby effectively excluding) the value of our goodwill. We believe that these measurements are useful for investors, regulators, management and others to evaluate financial performance and capital adequacy relative to other financial institutions. Although these non-GAAP financial measures are frequently used by stakeholders in the evaluation of a company, they have limitations as analytical tools and should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for analysis of our results or financial condition as reported under GAAP.

Tables 11 and 12 at the end of this document provide a reconciliation of these non-GAAP financial measures with their most closely related GAAP measures.

Source: First Hawaiian, Inc.