First Hawaiian, Inc. (FHB) SEC Filing 10-K Annual report for the fiscal year ending Saturday, December 31, 2016

Exhibit 99.1

For Immediate Release

First Hawaiian, Inc. Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2016 Financial Results and Declares Dividend

HONOLULU, Hawaii January 24, 2017—(Globe Newswire)—First Hawaiian, Inc. (NASDAQ:FHB), (the “Company”) today reported financial results for its fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2016.

Highlights

·                  Net income for the quarter ended December 31, 2016 was $56.6 million, or $0.41 per diluted share, and core net income(1) was $56.0 million, or $0.40 per diluted share

·                  Net income for the full year 2016 was $230.2 million, or $1.65 per diluted share, and core net income(1) was $217.1 million, or $1.56 per diluted share

·                  Board of Directors increased quarterly dividend by 10% to $0.22 per share

“2016 was a milestone year for First Hawaiian, and we capped off the year with a solid fourth quarter in which we grew total loans and leases to a record $11.5 billion,” said Bob Harrison, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.  “We are pleased with our performance in 2016, as we maintained our strategic and disciplined approach to growing loans and deposits, while maintaining excellent credit quality and sustaining superior financial performance.”

On January 23, 2017, the Company’s Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.22 per share, an increase of $0.02 per share from the dividend paid in December 2016.  The dividend will be payable on March 10, 2017 to shareholders of record at the close of business on February 27, 2017.

Earnings Highlights

Net income for the quarter ended December 31, 2016 was $56.6 million, or $0.41 per diluted share, compared to $53.2 million, or $0.38 per diluted share, for the quarter ended September 30, 2016, and $50.2 million, or $0.36 per diluted share, for the quarter ended December 31, 2015.  Core net income for the quarter ended December 31, 2016 was $56.0 million, or $0.40 per diluted share, compared to $55.2 million, or $0.40 per diluted share, for the quarter ended September 30, 2016, and $49.8 million, or $0.36 per diluted share, for the quarter ended December 31, 2015. Net income for the full year 2016 was $230.2 million, or $1.65 per diluted share, compared to $213.8 million, or $1.53 per diluted share, for the full year 2015.  Core net income for the full year 2016 was $217.1 million, or $1.56 per diluted share, compared to $196.3 million, or $1.41 per diluted share for the full year 2015.

Net interest income for the quarter ended December 31, 2016 was $131.3 million, an increase of $8.6 million compared to $122.7 million for the quarter ended September 30, 2016, and an increase of $15.0 million compared to $116.2 million for the quarter ended December 31, 2015.  The increases in net interest income compared to the third quarter of 2016 and the fourth quarter of 2015 were due to higher average balances of loans and investment securities and higher yields on investment securities, partially offset by higher average deposit balances. Net interest income for the full year 2016 was $491.7 million compared to $461.3 million for 2015.  The increase in net interest income was primarily attributable to higher average balances of loans and higher yields on investment securities, partially offset by lower yields on loans, lower average balances of investment securities and higher average deposit balances.

Net interest margin was 2.99%, 2.87% and 2.71%, respectively, for the quarters ended December 31, 2016, September 30, 2016, and December 31, 2015.  The 12 basis point increase compared to the third quarter of 2016 was due to higher investment portfolio yields, lower premium amortization, and higher loan prepayments, slightly offset by lower loan yields.  The 28 basis point increase compared to the fourth quarter of 2015 was due to overall higher earning asset yields.  The net interest margin for the full year of 2016 was 2.88%, compared to 2.78% for 2015.  The 10 basis point increase in net interest margin was primarily due to higher yields on investments and interest-bearing deposits in other banks, partially offset by lower yields on loans.

Results for the quarter ended December 31, 2016 included a provision for credit losses of $3.9 million compared to $2.1 million in the quarter ended September 30, 2016 and $2.5 million in the quarter ended December 31, 2015.  The provision for credit losses for the full year of 2016 was $8.6 million, compared to $9.9 million in 2015.