Emera Reports Strong Q1 2018 Earnings

Today Emera (TSX: EMA) reported net income of $271 million, compared
with net income of $312 million in Q1 2017. Adjusted net income was $202
million in the first quarter of 2018 versus $152 million in Q1 2017, an
increase of 33 per cent.

Q1 2018 Highlights:

Reported Net Income

• Reported Q1 2018 net income was $271 million, compared with net income
  of $312 million in Q1 2017.
• Reported Q1 2018 earnings per common share were $1.17, compared with
  $1.48 per common share in Q1 2017.

Adjusted Net Income ⁽¹⁾

• Adjusted Q1 2018 net income was $202 million, compared with $152
  million in Q1 2017.
• Adjusted Q1 2018 earnings per common share were $0.87, compared with
  $0.72 in Q1 2017.

Cash Flow

• Operating cash flow (before changes in working capital) increased $96
  million, or 28 per cent, to $444 million in Q1 2018, compared with
  $348 million in Q1 2017.

^{(1) See “Non-GAAP Measures” noted below.}

“Our higher adjusted first quarter net income reflects the growth
opportunity in our business now that it includes TECO as well as the
benefits of our diversified portfolio,” said Scott Balfour, President
and CEO of Emera Inc. “Our unregulated businesses capitalized on the
weather-driven opportunities and benefited from higher capacity prices
while our Florida utilities continued to show strong growth. The
Maritime Link was placed into service on January 15, 2018, connecting
the island of Newfoundland to the North American energy grid for the
first time in history, and is also contributing to our 21 per cent
overall increase in adjusted EPS.”

Financial Highlights:

For the			Three months ended March 31
millions of Canadian dollars (except per share amounts)			2018			2017
Net income attributable to common shareholders		$	271		$	312
After-tax mark-to-market gain (loss)			69		$	160
Adjusted net income attributable to common shareholders (1)(2)		$	202		$	152
Earnings per common share – basic		$	1.17		$	1.48
Adjusted earnings per common share – basic (1)(2)		$	0.87		$	0.72
Weighted average shares of common stock outstanding - basic (millions of shares)			231			212

^{(1) See “Non-GAAP Measures” noted below.
(2)
Adjusted net income (1) and Adjusted earnings per common share (1)
exclude the effect of mark-to-market adjustments.}

After-tax mark-to-market gains decreased $91 million to $69 million in
2018 compared to a $160 million gain for the same period in 2017. The
decrease, related to Emera Energy, is due to changes in existing
positions on long-term natural gas contracts in the first quarter of
2017 and a larger reversal of mark-to-market losses in the first quarter
of 2017 compared to 2018, partially offset by lower amortization of gas
transportation assets in 2018.

Consolidated Financial Review:

The following table highlights significant changes in adjusted net
income from 2017 to 2018 in the first quarter.

For the			Three months ended
millions of Canadian dollars			March 31
Adjusted net income – 2017 (1)(2)		$	152
Emera Energy			45
Emera Florida and New Mexico			11
NSPML and LIL equity earnings			9
NSPI			(5)
Other			(10)
Adjusted net income – 2018 (1)(2)		$	202

^{(1) See “Non-GAAP Measures” noted below.
(2)
Excludes the effect of mark-to-market adjustments.}

Segmented Results:

Emera reports its results in six operating segments: Emera Florida and
New Mexico, Nova Scotia Power Inc. (“NSPI”), Emera Maine, Emera
Caribbean, Emera Energy, and Corporate & Other.

For the			Three months ended March 31
millions of Canadian dollars (except per share amounts)			2018			2017
Adjusted net income
Emera Florida and New Mexico		$	90		$	79
NSPI			65			70
Emera Maine			10			13
Emera Caribbean (2)			5			7
Emera Energy (2)			55			10
Corporate & Other			(23)			(27)
Adjusted net income (1)		$	202		$	152
After-tax mark-to-market gain (loss)			69			160
Net income attributable to common shareholders		$	271		$	312
EPS (basic)		$	1.17		$	1.48
Adjusted EPS (basic) (1)(2)		$	0.87		$	0.72

^{(1) See “Non-GAAP Measures” noted below.
(2)
Excludes the effect of mark-to-market adjustments.}

Emera Florida and New Mexico’s net income was $90 million in Q1
2018 compared to $79 million in Q1 2017. Increased earnings were driven
by more favourable weather, higher base rates related to the Polk Power
Station expansion, and decreased income tax expense, partially offset by
higher depreciation expense and a stronger Canadian dollar.

NSPI’s net income was $65 million in Q1 2018 compared to $70
million in Q1 2017. The $5 million decrease was primarily due to higher
OM&G expense related to storm costs in the period, and higher interest
and income tax expenses, partially offset by higher electricity sales
due to load growth. Q1 shortfall versus prior year is expected to
reverse over the balance of the year and NSPI is expected to achieve
annual earnings modestly higher than 2017.

Emera Maine’s net income was $10 million in Q1 2018 compared to
net income of $13 million in Q1 2017. Results in Q1 2018 were driven by
higher OM&G due to higher storm costs and lower capitalized overheads as
a result of lower capital spending and higher medical costs, partially
offset by lower income tax expense as a result of US tax reform.

Emera Caribbean’s net income, adjusted to exclude mark-to-market
losses, of $5 million in Q1 2018 represents a decrease of $2 million
compared to Q1 2017 net income of $7 million. The decrease was primarily
due to lower sales volumes at Domlec reflecting the impact of Hurricane
Maria.

Emera Energy’s net income, adjusted to exclude mark-to-market
gains, was $55 million in Q1 2018 compared to $10 million in Q1 2017.
This increase is primarily attributable to the favourable impact of cold
weather in early 2018 in several of Emera Energy Services key market
areas and higher capacity prices that came into effect in New England in
June 2017. The cold weather resulted in high gas pricing and volatility
that led to higher natural gas margins.

Corporate & Other’s net loss was $23 million in Q1 2018
compared to $27 million in Q1 2017. The decreased loss was primarily due
to higher equity earnings from NSP Maritime Link (“NSPML”) and Labrador
Island Link (“LIL”) and lower deferred compensation costs, partially
offset by the effects of US tax reform.

The Maritime Link went into service on January 15, 2018. Cash earnings
from NSPML were $15 million in Q1 2018 compared with $7 million of AFUDC
earnings in Q1 2017.

Non-GAAP Measures

Emera uses financial measures that do not have standardized meaning
under USGAAP and may not be comparable to similar measures presented by
other entities. Emera calculates the non-GAAP measures by adjusting
certain GAAP and non-GAAP measures for specific items the Company
believes are significant, but not reflective of underlying operations in
the period. Refer to the Non-GAAP Financial Measures section of our
Management's Discussion and Analysis ("MD&A") for further discussion of
these items.

Forward Looking Information

This news release contains forward-looking information within the
meaning of applicable securities laws. By its nature, forward-looking
information requires Emera to make assumptions and is subject to
inherent risks and uncertainties. These statements reflect Emera
management’s current beliefs and are based on information currently
available to Emera management. There is a risk that predictions,
forecasts, conclusions and projections that constitute forward-looking
information will not prove to be accurate, that Emera’s assumptions may
not be correct and that actual results may differ materially from such
forward-looking information. Additional detailed information about these
assumptions, risks and uncertainties is included in Emera’s securities
regulatory filings, including under the heading “Business Risks and Risk
Management” in Emera’s annual Management’s Discussion and Analysis, and
under the heading “Principal Risks and Uncertainties” in the notes to
Emera’s annual and interim financial statements, which can be found on
SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

Teleconference Call

The company will be hosting a teleconference Friday, May 11, 2018 at
10:00am Atlantic time (9:00am Toronto/Montreal/New York; 8:00am
Winnipeg; 7:00am Calgary; 6:00am Vancouver) to discuss the Q1 2018
financial results.

Analysts and other interested parties in North America are invited to
participate by dialing 1-866-521-4909. International parties are invited
to participate by dialing 1-647-427-2311. Participants should dial in at
least 10 minutes prior to the start of the call. No pass code is
required.

A live and archived audio webcast of the teleconference will be
available on the Company's website, www.emera.com.
A replay of the teleconference will be available two hours after the
conclusion of the call until May 31, 2018 by dialing 1-800-585-8367 and
entering pass code 5699008.

Annual General Meeting

Emera will hold its Annual General Meeting on Thursday, May 24, 2018 at
2:00 p.m. (Eastern) at the Glenn Gould Studio, 250 Front Street West,
Toronto, ON.

About Emera

Emera Inc. is a geographically diverse energy and services company
headquartered in Halifax, Nova Scotia with approximately $29 billion in
assets and 2017 revenues of more than $6 billion. The company invests in
electricity generation, transmission and distribution, gas transmission
and distribution, and utility energy services with a strategic focus on
transformation from high carbon to low carbon energy sources. Emera has
investments throughout North America, and in four Caribbean countries.
Emera continues to target achieving a minimum of 75% of its adjusted net
income from rate-regulated businesses. Emera’s common and preferred
shares are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange and trade respectively
under the symbol EMA, EMA.PR.A, EMA.PR.B, EMA.PR.C, EMA.PR.E, and
EMA.PR.F. Depositary receipts representing common shares of Emera are
listed on the Barbados Stock Exchange under the symbol EMABDR and on The
Bahamas International Securities Exchange under the symbol EMAB.
Additional Information can be accessed at www.emera.com
or at www.sedar.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180510006309/en/

Source: Business Wire
(May 10, 2018 - 5:11 PM EDT)

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