Hancock Whitney Corporation (Nasdaq: HWC) today announced its financial results for the fourth quarter of 2022. Net income for the fourth quarter of 2022 totaled $143.8 million, or $1.65 per diluted common share (EPS), compared to $135.4 million, or $1.55 per diluted common share, in the third quarter of 2022. The company reported net income for the fourth quarter of 2021 of $137.7 million, or $1.55 per diluted common share. The fourth quarter of 2021 included ($4.9) million, or ($0.04) per share after-tax, of net nonoperating income items, mostly due to storm-related insurance proceeds.

Fourth Quarter 2022 Highlights

• Pre-provision net revenue (PPNR) totaled $185.0 million, up $10.3 million, or 6%, linked-quarter
• Total loan growth of $528.5 million, or 9% LQA, exceeded expectations
• Criticized commercial loans, down slightly, linked quarter; nonperforming loans, also decreased slightly and both remain at historical low levels
• ACL coverage remained strong at 1.48%
• Deposits increased $119.1 million, or 2% LQA
• NIM increased 14 basis points (bps) to 3.68%
• CET1 ratio estimated at 11.37%, up 27 bps; TCE ratio 7.09%, up 36 bps
• Efficiency ratio improved to 49.81%

“We are exceptionally proud of our team and the company’s performance in 2022,” said John M. Hairston, President & CEO. “The results reveal not only progress made this year, but also the culmination of decisions made the last several years to better position the company. Today’s results, for both the quarter and the year, reflect a company positioned well for today’s economic environment. Credit metrics are at historically low levels; initiatives executed in 2020 through 2022 helped drive an efficiency ratio below 50% in the fourth quarter; new bankers hired over the past 18 months should help attract and enhance relationships in growth markets; we have proven our ability to proactively manage expenses and are introducing technology focused on scalability and effectiveness; capital remains solid and our balance sheet is de-risked and positioned well for today’s rapidly changing rate environment. With year over year earnings up $61 million, PPNR up $103.5 million, net loan growth up $2.0 billion, NIM up 31 basis points and an efficiency ratio in the low 50s, we view 2022 as a successful year.”

Loans

Total loans were $23.1 billion at December 31, 2022, up $528.5 million, or 2%, from September 30, 2022. Improving line utilization contributed to growth in markets and lines of business. One-time closure products drove the increase in mortgage loans, while limits on growth in commercial real estate (CRE) loans due to today’s economic environment led to an overall decline in CRE.

Average loans totaled $22.7 billion for the fourth quarter of 2022, up $584.5 million, or 3%, linked-quarter. Management expects total loan growth to be in the range of low- to mid-single digits at year-end 2023.

Deposits

Total deposits at December 31, 2022 were $29.1 billion, up $119.1 million, or less than 1%, from September 30, 2022. The increase in deposits is primarily due to expected seasonal inflows, which typically begin to runoff in the first quarter of each year. Commercial client deployment of excess liquidity drove a decline in DDA, while competitive rates on certain deposit products led to a slight shift from no and low cost deposits to higher rate money market and time deposit (CD) products.

DDAs totaled $13.6 billion at December 31, 2022, down $645.7 million, or 5%, from September 30, 2022 and comprised 47% of total period-end deposits. Interest-bearing transaction and savings deposits totaled $10.7 billion at the end of the fourth quarter of 2022, a decrease of $175.7 million, or 2%, linked-quarter. Compared to September 30, 2022, time deposits of $1.5 billion were up $492.6 million, or 51%. Interest-bearing public fund deposits increased $447.9 million, or 16%, linked-quarter, ending December 31, 2022 at $3.2 billion.

Average deposits for the fourth quarter of 2022 were $28.8 billion, down $364.3 million, or 1%, linked-quarter. Management expects 2023 period-end deposit level growth to be flat to low single digits compared to year-end 2022.

Asset Quality

The total allowance for credit losses (ACL) was $341.1 million at December 31, 2022, up slightly from September 30, 2022. During the fourth quarter of 2022, the company recorded a provision for credit losses of $2.5 million, compared to a provision of $1.4 million in the third quarter of 2022. There were $1.0 million of net charge-offs in the fourth quarter of 2022, or 0.02% of average total loans on an annualized basis, compared to net charge-offs of $1.3 million, or 0.02% of average total loans in the third quarter of 2022. The ratio of ACL to period-end loans was 1.48% at December 31, 2022, down slightly from 1.50% at September 30, 2022.

The company’s overall asset quality metrics currently sit near historically low levels, with criticized commercial loans and total nonperforming loans both remaining relatively flat linked-quarter. Criticized commercial loans totaled $301.9 million, or 1.64% of total commercial loans, at December 31, 2022, compared to $304.4 million, or 1.68% of total loans at September 30, 2022. Nonperforming assets (NPAs) totaled $42.9 million at December 31, 2022, down 2% from September 30, 2022. During the fourth quarter of 2022, total nonperforming loans decreased $0.8 million, or 2%, while ORE and foreclosed assets were virtually unchanged, linked-quarter. Nonperforming assets as a percent of total loans, ORE and other foreclosed assets was 0.19% at December 31, 2022, unchanged from September 30, 2022.

Net Interest Income and Net Interest Margin (NIM)

Net interest income (TE) for the fourth quarter of 2022 was $298.1 million, an increase of $15.2 million, or 5%, from the third quarter of 2022. The net interest margin (NIM) (TE) was 3.68% in the fourth quarter of 2022, up 14 bps linked-quarter. Continued changes related to the recent Fed increases in rates and a shift in the mix of earning assets led to a 52 basis point improvement in the NIM that was partly offset by the impact from a higher cost of funds (-37 bps) and forgiveness of PPP loans (-1 bp). Additional NIM detail and guidance is included in the fourth quarter of 2022 earnings investor deck.

Average earning assets were $32.2 billion for the fourth quarter of 2022, up $460.9 million, or 1%, from the third quarter of 2022. The increase reflects the loan growth experienced during the quarter.

Noninterest Income

Noninterest income totaled $77.1 million for the fourth quarter of 2022, down $8.3 million, or 10%, from the third quarter of 2022.

Service charges on deposits were down $1.0 million, or 5%, from the third quarter of 2022. The decline was related, in part, to the elimination of certain nonsufficient funds (NSF) and overdraft (OD) fees effective December 1, 2022. As noted previously, the annual impact from the elimination of these fees is expected to approximate $10-$11 million.

Bankcard and ATM fees were down $0.5 million, or 2%, from the third quarter of 2022. Investment and annuity income and insurance fees were up $0.3 million, or 5%, linked-quarter. Trust fees were up $0.4 million, or 3% linked-quarter.

Fees from secondary mortgage operations totaled $1.5 million for the fourth quarter of 2022, down $1.8 million, or 54%, linked-quarter. The decline in secondary mortgage fees is due to lower activity driven by the current rate environment and less loans sold in the secondary market.

Other noninterest income totaled $9.1 million, down $5.7 million, or 39%, from the third quarter of 2022. The decline in other noninterest income reflects a lower level of specialty fees, including BOLI, derivatives and SBIC income compared to the third quarter of 2022.

Noninterest Expense & Taxes

Noninterest expense totaled $190.2 million, down $3.3 million, or 2% linked-quarter.

Personnel expense totaled $119.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2022, flat linked-quarter. Occupancy and equipment expense totaled $16.9 million in the fourth quarter of 2022, virtually unchanged from the third quarter of 2022. Amortization of intangibles totaled $3.3 million for the fourth quarter of 2022, down $0.2 million, or 5%, linked-quarter.

Gains on sales of ORE and other foreclosed assets exceeded related expenses by $773 thousand in the fourth quarter of 2022 and $1.8 million in the third quarter of 2022.

Other operating expense totaled $51.6 million in the fourth quarter of 2022, down $4.4 million, or 8%, linked-quarter. The decrease in other expenses is primarily due to storm-related gains.

The effective income tax rate for fourth quarter 2022 was 20.1%.

Capital

Common stockholders’ equity at December 31, 2022 totaled $3.3 billion, down $162.2 million, or 5%, from September 30, 2022. The tangible common equity (TCE) ratio was 7.09%, up 36 bps from September 30, 2022. The company’s CET1 ratio is estimated to be 11.37% at December 31, 2022, up 27 bps linked-quarter. The company’s share buyback authorization (allowing the repurchase of up to 4,338,000 shares of the company’s common stock), expired December 31, 2022. The company repurchased 1,654,244 shares under that authorization. No shares were repurchased in the fourth quarter of 2022.

Conference Call and Slide Presentation

Management will host a conference call for analysts and investors at 4:00 p.m. Central Time on Tuesday, January 17, 2023 to review fourth quarter 2022 results. A live listen-only webcast of the call will be available under the Investor Relations section of Hancock Whitney’s website at investors.hancockwhitney.com. 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 844-200-6205 or 646-904-5544, access code 950842.

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, 2023 by dialing 866-813-9403 or 929-458-6194, access code 459314.

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; and mortgage services. The company also operates a loan production office in Nashville, Tennessee. 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 the provisions of subpart 229.1400 of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Regulation S-K, “Disclosures by Bank and Savings and Loan Registrants,” 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 concept “operating.” We use 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 our business. In addition, we believe that the presentation of certain tangible common equity ratios adjusted for the impact of accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) is useful to investors and others as leadership considers these ratios when measuring our corporate strategic objectives and these ratios provide a greater understanding of ongoing operations and enhance comparability with prior periods.

We define Operating Pre-Provision Net Revenue as total 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.

We define Tangible Common Equity Ratio Excluding Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss) as common stockholders’ equity less intangible assets and accumulated other comprehensive income included in equity divided by total assets less intangible assets and accumulated other comprehensive income included in assets. We define Return on Tangible Common Equity Excluding Other Comprehensive Income (Loss) as annual/annualized net income divided by common stockholders’ equity less intangible assets and accumulated other comprehensive income included in equity. We believe these measures are useful as they enable investors and others to evaluate the adequacy of common stockholders’ equity, our performance trends and success in meeting our corporate strategic objectives.

As of January 1, 2022, the company has determined it will no longer include in "nonoperating" items any immaterial results from storm-related expenses and income items.

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 our expectations of our performance and financial condition, balance sheet and revenue growth, the provision for credit losses, loan growth expectations, management’s predictions about charge-offs for loans, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the economy and our operations, the impacts related to Russia’s military action in Ukraine, Federal Reserve action with respect to interest rates, the adequacy of our enterprise risk management framework, potential claims, damages, penalties, fines and reputational damage resulting from pending or future litigation, regulatory proceedings and enforcement actions; the ongoing impact of future business combinations on our performance and financial condition, including our ability to successfully integrate the businesses, success of revenue-generating and cost reduction initiatives, the effectiveness of derivative financial instruments and hedging activities to manage risks, projected tax rates, increased cybersecurity risks, including potential business disruptions or financial losses, the adequacy of our internal controls over financial reporting, the financial impact of regulatory requirements and tax reform legislation, the impact of the change in the referenced rate reform, deposit trends, credit quality trends, the impact of natural or man-made disasters, the impact of PPP loans and forgiveness on our results, the impact of current and future economic conditions, including the effects of declines in the real estate market, high unemployment rates, inflationary pressures, elevated interest rates and slowdowns in economic growth, as well as the financial stress on borrowers as a result of the foregoing, net interest margin trends, future expense levels, future profitability, improvements in expense to revenue (efficiency) ratio, purchase accounting impacts, accretion levels and expected returns.

In addition, 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, 2021 and in other periodic reports that we file with the SEC.

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