Hawaiian Electric (HE) Q1 Earnings Beat, Revenues Up Y/Y

Hawaiian Electric Industries Inc. (NYSE:HE) reported earnings per share (EPS) of 42 cents in the first quarter of 2019, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 39 cents by 7.7%. The bottom line also improved 13.5% from 37 cents registered in the prior-year quarter. Solid revenues and operating income in the quarter under review led to the uptick.

Total Revenues

Hawaiian Electric’s total revenues of $661.6 million in the first quarter outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $579 million by 14.3% and also rose 2.4% year over year. The improvement can be attributed to increased contributions from both the Electric Utility and Bank segments.

Operating Statistics

Total expenses increased 1.7% year over year to $538.7 million during the first quarter.

However, total operating income rose 8.4% year over year to $77.9 million driven by higher contributions from both the Electric Utility and Bank segments.

Net interest expenses amounted to $23.1 million, up from $21.5 million in the prior-year quarter.

Segment Details

Electric Utility: Revenues at this segment totaled $578.5 million, up 1.4% year over year. Also, net income increased to $32.6 million from $28 million a year ago.

Banking: At this segment revenues summed $83.1 million, up 10.1% year over year. Meanwhile, net income came in at $20.8 million, up 9.9%.

Quarterly Highlights

In the first quarter, the Public Utilities Commission approved the company’s six renewable power purchase agreements. This, in turn, is expected to bring a significant amount of solar-plus-battery-storage projects for Hawaiian Electric in Oahu, Maui and Hawaii Island.

Guidance

Hawaiian Electric reaffirmed its earnings guidance for 2019. The company continues to expect earnings in the range of $1.85-$2.05 per share. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2019 earnings is pegged at $1.94, just below the midpoint of the company’s guided range.

Zacks Rank & Stock to Consider

Hawaiian Electric currently carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).

A better-ranked stock in the same industry is PG&E Corp. (NYSE:PCG) carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

PG&E Corp surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings in the trailing four quarters, the average being 16.9%. It has an expected long-term earnings growth rate of 2.3%.

Recent Utility Releases

FirstEnergy Corporation (NYSE:FE) delivered first-quarter 2019 operating earnings of 67 cents per share, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 66 cents by 1.52%.

NextEra Energy, Inc.’s (NYSE:NEE) first-quarter 2019 adjusted earnings came in at $2.20 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.01 by 9.4%.

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