Hydro One hikes dividend as profit jumps amid political onslaught in Ontario

Hydro One Ltd. said Tuesday that profit was up for its first quarter, an increase that comes as the company is being kicked around as a political football ahead of Ontario’s June 7 election.

“Politics around hydro as a commodity has been very high, but, you know really, unfortunately, the focus has come on to Hydro One a good bit,” said Mayo Schmidt, president and chief executive officer of Hydro One, in a conference call with analysts. 

Toronto-based Hydro One reported net income attributable to common shareholders of $222 million for the quarter ended March 31, up nearly 33 per cent from a year ago. Hydro One also boosted its quarterly dividend by five per cent, to 23 cents per share, payable June 29.

The company, Ontario’s largest electricity distribution and transmission utility, said the increase in profit was driven by the favourable impact of a regulatory decision on Hydro One’s transmission rates, as well as the positive effects of colder weather and cost control.

But the company has not been able to escape the spotlight in Ontario’s provincial election campaign, which the CEO admits Hydro will be glad to see end.

“We’re quite frankly looking forward to … getting through the election,” Schmidt said. “We don’t have a view or a bias in that election, but the fact is that I think in our view would be, once we clear it and the hydro or electricity becomes less of a, let’s say a lightning rod, that things will smooth out.”

“But we’re not losing our focus as an organization in the meantime,” he added.

Schmidt pointed to an Ontario electricity fee, the global adjustment — which is tied to electricity generation, not the transmission or distribution that Hydro One handles — as causing “certain strains” on customer budgets. Ontario’s Liberal government implemented a plan last year to lower household power bills by an average of 25 per cent, part of which relied on a “refinancing” of the global adjustment.

Schmidt also noted the company has a governance agreement with the province, whom he called a “shareholder, not a manager of the business.” He added that Hydro One has managed to help lower the cost of electricity for its customers by 31 per cent on average over the next three years. 

Hydro One’s executive compensation has still become a campaign issue ahead of the province’s June 7 election. Ontario Progressive Conservative Leader Doug Ford, who has been leading in the polls, has referred to Schmidt as the “$6 Million dollar man,” and has vowed to remove him and the entire board of Hydro One if he is elected.

The Liberal government had also said it would be abstaining from voting on the company’s “say-on-pay” shareholder resolution at the company’s annual general meeting on Tuesday as well.

In response, Hydro One chair David Denison said the utility would seek additional advice, hold discussions with shareholders and review its current compensation practices.

Electricity issues in general have also been hot-button issues in Ontario, putting the actions of Hydro One under intense scrutiny as a publicly traded company. Hydro One was previously owned by the province, before Ontario’s Liberal government began selling shares in 2015. The utility is now approximately 47 per cent government-owned, according to Bloomberg.

National Bank Financial analyst Patrick Kenny said Hydro One’s first-quarter results were “in line” with their forecast. 

Meanwhile, Hydro One is also making headway in its  $6.7-billion acquisition of U.S.-based energy company Avista Corp., with settlement agreements filed in Washington, Alaska and Idaho, in addition to the deal receiving anti-trust clearance and approvals from the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and U.S. Federal Communications Commission.

“We’re monitoring, we’re running our business as investors would expect us to,” Schmidt said.

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