GULFPORT, Miss., Jan. 16, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Hancock Whitney Corporation (NASDAQ:HWC) today announced its financial results for the fourth quarter of 2018. Net income for the fourth quarter of 2018 was $96.2 million, or $1.10 per diluted common share (EPS), compared to $83.9 million, or $.96 EPS in the third quarter of 2018 and $55.4 million, or $.64 EPS, in the fourth quarter of 2017. The fourth quarter of 2018 included $1.9 million ($.02 per share after-tax impact) of nonoperating items. The third quarter of 2018 included $4.8 million ($.05 per share impact) of nonoperating items and the fourth quarter of 2017 included a tax reform related re-measurement charge of the net deferred tax asset (DTA) of $19.5 million ($.22 per share impact).

• Net income increased $12.4 million, or 15%
• EPS increased $.14 to $1.10; excluding nonoperating items, EPS increased $.11 to $1.12
• Net loan growth of $483 million, or 2%, surpassing $20 billion in total loans; reflects sale of $116 million of loans in fourth quarter
• NIM expanded by 3 bps to 3.39%
• Criticized commercial loans declined $208 million, or 25% linked-quarter; $78 million energy, $131 million nonenergy; nonperforming loans declined by $37 million, or 10% linked-quarter; $23 million energy, $15 million nonenergy
• TCE ratio improved to 8.02%, up 35 bps
• Tax rate of 8% lower than typical rate of 18%; lower rate attributable to tax reform strategies and stock-based incentive compensation vesting

"We ended the year with solid results, and the year as a whole reflected strong growth and improved performance," said John M. Hairston President & CEO. "For the full year of 2018, net income was up 50%, EPS increased $1.24 to $3.72, ROA was up 35 bps to 1.17%, loans grew $1 billion, commercial criticized loans declined $451 million, we achieved our goal of reducing our energy exposure and continued shifting our loan mix within the portfolio, ended the year with TCE back above 8%, all while changing our name and closing 2 transactions. We achieved a few of our 2019 CSOs during 2018, and adopted new ones early this year which target what we believe will be better performance and profitability in the future."

At December 31, 2018, loans to the energy industry totaled $1.1 billion, or 5.3% of total loans. The energy portfolio increased $132 million linked-quarter, and is comprised of credits to both the exploration and production (E&P) sector and the support services sector. The growth was primarily in E&P and midstream, as we continue our focus on shifting the mix between subsectors. Payoffs and paydowns of $45 million and charge-offs of $16 million were offset by $193 million in fundings.

Interest-bearing transaction and savings deposits totaled $8.0 billion at the end of the fourth quarter of 2018, up $28 million, or less than 1%, from September 30, 2018. Time deposits of $3.6 billion were down $46 million, or 1%, while interest-bearing public fund deposits increased $393 million, or 15%, to $3.0 billion at December 31, 2018. The net decrease in time deposits reflects a decline in brokered CDs of $168 million, partly offset by an increase of $121 million in retail CDs. The increase in public funds is seasonal and primarily related to year-end tax payments collected by local municipalities.

Asset Quality
Nonperforming assets (NPAs) totaled $352.6 million at December 31, 2018, down $38.7 million, or 10%, from September 30, 2018. During the fourth quarter of 2018, total nonperforming loans decreased approximately $37.5 million, while foreclosed and surplus real estate (ORE) and other foreclosed assets decreased approximately $1.2 million. Nonperforming assets as a percent of total loans, ORE and other foreclosed assets was 1.76% at December 31, 2018, down 24 bps from September 30, 2018.

The total allowance for loan losses (ALLL) was $194.5 million at December 31, 2018, down $20.0 million, or 9%, from September 30, 2018. The allowance for credits in the energy portfolio totaled $33.2 million, or 3.1% of energy loans, at December 31, 2018, as compared to $50.2 million, or 5.4% of energy loans, at September 30, 2018. The allowance for credits in the nonenergy portfolio totaled $161.3 million, or 0.85% of nonenergy loans, at December 31, 2018, as compared to $164.3 million, or 0.88% of nonenergy loans, at September 30, 2018. The ratio of the allowance for loan losses to period-end loans was 0.97% at December 31, 2018, down 13 bps from 1.10% at September 30, 2018.

Net charge-offs were $28.1 million, or 0.56% of average total loans on an annualized basis in the fourth quarter of 2018, up from $6.9 million, or 0.14% of average total loans in the third quarter of 2018. Included in the total were $15.8 million of energy charge-offs. Approximately $21 million of net charge-offs were related to 2 credits, (one energy, one nonenergy), and had been largely reserved for in prior periods. During the fourth quarter of 2018, the company recorded a total provision for loan losses of $8.1 million, up from $6.9 million in the third quarter of 2018.

In late the fourth quarter the company sold 192,000 shares of VISA-B stock for a net gain of $33.2 million. The VISA-B shares net gain offset losses associated with selling $481 million of lower yielding bonds and $116 million of lower yielding municipal loans. Proceeds from the sales were used to purchase $260 million of higher yielding bonds and to pay down $346 million of FHLB advances. The VISA-B trade and related restructuring improves the company's yields on investment securities and loans, while also improving the company's funding mix.

Average earning assets were $26.0 billion for the fourth quarter of 2018, up $178.8 million, or less than 1%, from the third quarter of 2018. The net interest margin (TE) was 3.39% for the fourth quarter of 2018, up 3 bps from the third quarter of 2018. The increase in the margin reflects a positive impact from a 10 bp increase in the average earning asset yield (an 8 bp increase in loan yield and a 7 bp increase in yield on the securities portfolio), partially offset by a 7 bp increase in the cost of funds. The portfolio restructuring noted above added 2 bps to the margin, while changes in the funding mix also contributed positively.

Noninterest Expense & Taxes
Noninterest expense for the fourth quarter of 2018 totaled $179.4 million, down $1.8 million, or 1%, from the third quarter of 2018. Included in the fourth quarter total was $2.5 million of nonoperating expense related to the trust and asset management acquisition, expenses from Hurricane Michael and the move of the New Orleans main office. There was $4.8 million of nonoperating expense in the third quarter of 2018. Excluding nonoperating items, operating expense for the fourth quarter of 2018 totaled $176.9 million, up $0.5 million, or less than 1% linked-quarter. The discussion below excludes nonoperating items.

Conference Call and Slide Presentation
Management will host a conference call for analysts and investors at 8:30 a.m. Central Time on Thursday, January 17, 2019 to review the results. A live listen-only webcast of the call will be available under the Investor Relations section of Hancock Whitney's website at www.hancockwhitney.com/investors. A link to the release with additional financial tables, and a link to a slide presentation related to fourth quarter results are also posted as part of the webcast link. To participate in the Q&A portion of the call, dial (877) 564-1219 or (973) 638-3429. An audio archive of the conference call will be available under the Investor Relations section of our website. A replay of the call will also be available through January 24, 2019 by dialing (855) 859-2056 or (404) 537-3406, passcode 4594604. 

About Hancock Whitney
Since the late 1800s, Hancock Whitney has embodied core values of Honor & Integrity, Strength & Stability, Commitment to Service, Teamwork, and Personal Responsibility. Hancock Whitney offices and financial centers in Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, and Texas offer comprehensive financial products and services, including traditional and online banking; commercial and small business banking; private banking; trust and investment services; healthcare banking; certain insurance services; and mortgage services. The company also operates a loan production office in Nashville, Tennessee, as well as trust and asset management offices in New Jersey and New York. BauerFinancial, Inc., the nation's leading independent bank rating and analysis firm, consistently recommends Hancock Whitney as one of America's most financially sound banks. More information is available at www.hancockwhitney.com.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures
This news release includes non-GAAP financial measures to describe Hancock Whitney's performance. These non-GAAP financial measures should not be considered alternatives to GAAP-basis financial statements, and other bank holding companies may define or calculate these non-GAAP measures or similar measures differently. The reconciliations of those measures to GAAP measures are provided either in the financial tables or in Appendix A thereto.

Consistent with Securities and Exchange Commission Industry Guide 3, the company presents net interest income, net interest margin and efficiency ratios on a fully taxable equivalent ("TE") basis. The TE basis adjusts for the tax-favored status of net interest income from certain loans and investments using the statutory federal tax rate to increase tax-exempt interest income to a taxable equivalent basis. The company believes this measure to be the preferred industry measurement of net interest income and it enhances comparability of net interest income arising from taxable and tax-exempt sources.

The company presents certain additional non-GAAP financial measures to assist the reader with a better understanding of the company's performance period over period, as well as to provide investors with assistance in understanding the success management has experienced in executing its strategic initiatives. These non-GAAP measures may reference the concepts "core" or "operating." The company uses the term "core" to describe a financial measure that excludes income or expense arising from accretion or amortization of fair value adjustments recorded as part of purchase accounting. The company uses the term "operating" to describe a financial measure that excludes income or expense considered to be nonoperating in nature. Items identified as nonoperating are those that, when excluded from a reported financial measure, provide management or the reader with a measure that may be more indicative of forward-looking trends in the company's business.

We define Operating Revenue as net interest income (TE) and noninterest income less nonoperating revenue. We define Operating Pre-Provision Net Revenue as operating revenue (TE) less noninterest expense, excluding nonoperating items. Management believes that operating pre-provision net revenue is a useful financial measure because it enables investors and others to assess the company's ability to generate capital to cover credit losses through a credit cycle. A reconciliation of reported net interest income to operating pre-provision net revenue is included in Appendix A.

We define Operating Earnings as reported net income excluding nonoperating items net of income tax.  We define Operating Earnings per Share as operating earnings expressed as an amount available to each common shareholder on a diluted basis. A reconciliation of reported net income to operating earnings is presented in the Income Statement table and a reconciliation of reported earnings per share – diluted to operating earnings per share – diluted is presented in Appendix A. 

Important Cautionary Statement About Forward-Looking Statements
This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Forward-looking statements that we may make include statements regarding balance sheet and revenue growth, the provision for loans losses, loan growth expectations, management's predictions about charge-offs for loans, including energy-related credits, the impact of changes in oil and gas prices on our energy portfolio, the impact of the transaction with Capital One on our performance and financial condition, including our ability to successfully integrate the business, deposit trends, credit quality trends, net interest margin trends, future expense levels, success of revenue-generating initiatives, projected tax rates, future profitability, improvements in expense to revenue (efficiency) ratio, purchase accounting impacts such as accretion levels, increased cybersecurity risks, including potential business disruptions or financial losses, and the financial impact of regulatory requirements and tax reform legislation. Also, any statement that does not describe historical or current facts is a forward-looking statement. These statements often include the words "believes," "expects," "anticipates," "estimates," "intends," "plans," "forecast," "goals," "targets," "initiatives," "focus," "potentially," "probably," "projects," "outlook", or similar expressions or future conditional verbs such as "may," "will," "should," "would," and "could." Forward-looking statements are based upon the current beliefs and expectations of management and on information currently available to management. Our statements speak as of the date hereof, and we do not assume any obligation to update these statements or to update the reasons why actual results could differ from those contained in such statements in light of new information or future events.

Forward-looking statements are subject to significant risks and uncertainties. Any forward-looking statement made in this release is subject to the safe harbor protections set forth in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Investors are cautioned against placing undue reliance on such statements. Actual results may differ materially from those set forth in the forward looking statements. Additional factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements can be found in Part I, "Item 1A. Risk Factors" in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2017 and in other periodic reports that we file with the SEC.