HONOLULU, April 26, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- First Hawaiian, Inc. (NASDAQ:FHB), ("First Hawaiian" or the "Company") today reported financial results for its quarter ended March 31, 2024.

"I'm pleased to report that we started 2024 with a solid first quarter," said Bob Harrison, Chairman, President, and CEO. "We had strong earnings, continued excellent credit quality and continued to grow our capital levels."

On April 24, 2024, the Company's Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.26 per share. The dividend will be payable on May 31, 2024, to stockholders of record at the close of business on May 20, 2024.

First Quarter 2024 Highlights:

• Net income of $54.2 million, or $0.42 per diluted share
• Total loans and leases decreased $33.3 million versus prior quarter
• Total deposits decreased $663.2 million versus prior quarter
• Net interest margin increased 10 basis points to 2.91%
• Recorded a $6.3 million provision for credit losses
• $4.1 millionFDIC special assessment included in expenses
• Board of Directors declared a quarterly dividend of $0.26 per share
  

Balance Sheet
Total assets were $24.3 billion as of March 31, 2024, a decrease of $647.3 million, or 2.6%, from $24.9 billion as of December 31, 2023.

Gross loans and leases were $14.3 billion as of March 31, 2024, a decrease of $33.3 million, or 0.2%, from $14.4 billion as of December 31, 2023.

Total deposits were $20.7 billion as of March 31, 2024, a decrease of $663.2 million, or 3.1%, from $21.3 billion as of December 31, 2023.

Net Interest Income
Net interest income for the first quarter of 2024 was $154.4 million, an increase of $2.6 million, or 1.7%, compared to $151.8 million for the prior quarter.

The net interest margin was 2.91% in the first quarter of 2024, an increase of 10 basis points compared to 2.81% in the prior quarter.

Provision Expense
During the quarter ended March 31, 2024, we recorded a $6.3 million provision for credit losses. In the quarter ended December 31, 2023, we recorded a $5.3 million provision for credit losses.

Noninterest Income
Noninterest income was $51.4 million in the first quarter of 2024, a decrease of $7.0 million compared to noninterest income of $58.3 million in the prior quarter.

Noninterest Expense
Noninterest expense was $128.8 million in the first quarter of 2024, a decrease of $13.5 million compared to noninterest expense of $142.3 million in the prior quarter.

The efficiency ratio was 62.2% and 67.3% for the quarters ended March 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, respectively.

Taxes
The effective tax rate was 23.3% and 24.0% for the quarters ended March 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, respectively.

Asset Quality
The allowance for credit losses was $159.8 million, or 1.12% of total loans and leases, as of March 31, 2024, compared to $156.5 million, or 1.09% of total loans and leases, as of December 31, 2023. The reserve for unfunded commitments was $34.8 million as of March 31, 2024 compared to $35.6 million as of December 31, 2023. Net charge-offs were $3.8 million, or 0.11% of average loans and leases on an annualized basis, for the quarter ended March 31, 2024, compared to net charge-offs of $5.8 million, or 0.16% of average loans and leases on an annualized basis, for the quarter ended December 31, 2023. Total non-performing assets were $18.0 million, or 0.13% of total loans and leases and other real estate owned, on March 31, 2024, compared to total non-performing assets of $18.6 million, or 0.13% of total loans and leases and other real estate owned, on December 31, 2023.

Capital
Total stockholders' equity increased $27.7 million in the first quarter, and stood at $2.5 billion on March 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023.

The tier 1 leverage, common equity tier 1 and total capital ratios were 8.80%, 12.55% and 13.75%, respectively, on March 31, 2024, compared with 8.64%, 12.39% and 13.57%, respectively, on December 31, 2023.

The Company did not repurchase any shares in the first quarter.

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 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time, 7:00 a.m. Hawaii Time.

To access the call by phone, please register via the following link: https://register.vevent.com/register/BIb74728f7f2a14341b3028eb985e2ddf0, and you will be provided with dial in details. To avoid delays, we encourage participants to dial into the conference call fifteen minutes ahead of the scheduled start time.

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.

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, there can be no assurance that actual results will not prove to be materially different from the results expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. A number of important factors could cause actual results or performance to differ materially from the forward-looking statements, including (without limitation) the risks and uncertainties associated with the domestic and global economic environment and capital market conditions and other risk factors. For a discussion of some of these 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, 2023.

Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures
Return on average tangible assets, return on average tangible stockholders' equity, tangible book value per share and tangible stockholders' equity to tangible assets are non-GAAP financial measures. 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. Investors should consider our performance and capital adequacy as reported under GAAP and all other relevant information when assessing our performance and capital adequacy.

Table 12 at the end of this document provides a reconciliation of these non-GAAP financial measures with their most directly comparable GAAP measures.

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⁽¹⁾ Except for the efficiency ratio, amounts are annualized for the three months ended March 31, 2024, December 31, 2023 and March 31, 2023.

⁽²⁾ Return on average tangible assets, return on average tangible stockholders' equity, tangible book value per share and tangible stockholders' equity to tangible assets are non-GAAP financial measures. 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 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 tangible book value per share as the ratio of tangible stockholders' equity to outstanding shares. Tangible stockholders' equity is calculated by subtracting (and thereby effectively excluding) amounts related to the effect of goodwill from our total stockholders' equity. 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. For a reconciliation to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure, see Table 12, GAAP to Non-GAAP Reconciliation.

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⁽¹⁾ Non-performing loans and leases are included in the respective average loan and lease balances. Income, if any, on such loans and leases is recognized on a cash basis.

⁽²⁾ Interest income includes taxable-equivalent basis adjustments of $1.5 million, $1.4 million and $1.4 million for the three months ended March 31, 2024, December 31, 2023 and March 31, 2023, respectively.

⁽³⁾ Interest rate spread is the difference between the average yield on earning assets and the average rate paid on interest-bearing liabilities, on a fully taxable-equivalent basis.

⁽⁴⁾ Net interest margin is net interest income annualized for the three months ended March 31, 2024, December 31, 2023 and March 31, 2023, on a fully taxable-equivalent basis, divided by average total earning assets.

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⁽¹⁾ Annualized for the three months ended March 31, 2024, December 31, 2023 and March 31, 2023.