Hawaiian Electric Energy Investments Lower 2nd Quarter Earnings

Constance H. Lau, President & Chief Executive Officer, Hawaiian Electric Industries, Inc. (Courtesy of Hawaiian Electric Industries, Inc., Lewis Harrington)

By Sonia Isotov

As a result of continued investment in clean energy strategies, Hawaiian Electric Industries, Inc. (HEI) today reported net income for the second quarter of 2011 of $27.1 million, compared to $29.3 million for the second quarter of 2010.  

“Earnings were lower in the second quarter as our utilities invested in their clean energy and reliability strategies which required additional capital investments and higher operating expenses.  Now that rate relief has recently been approved for our largest utility, earnings should improve in the second half of the year,” said Constance H. Lau, HEI president and chief executive officer, in a written statement.

The electric utility alone reported net income for the second quarter of 2011 was $17.0 million compared to $17.6 million in the second quarter of 2010.

HEI’s quarter also benefitted from several key developments, including rate relief granted in late 2010 and early 2011 for Maui County and Hawaii Island utilities, respectively; and lower depreciation expense from the change in depreciation rates and methods for the Hawaii Island and Maui County utilities.

For Hawaii Island and Maui County utilities, which are awaiting decoupling implementation, their combined kilowatthour sales were flat compared with the same quarter last year.

Turning to bank activities, Lau added in her statement, “At our bank, we had another solid quarter with continued improvement in credit quality and loan growth for the third consecutive quarter.  Performance continued to exceed peer banks with a return on assets of 1.24%, net interest margin of 4.07% and efficiency ratio of 57%,” added Lau.