April 29 (Bloomberg) — Aflac Inc., the largest seller of supplemental health insurance, posted first-quarter profit that beat analysts' estimates, sending shares higher.
Net income declined 18 percent to $732 million, or $1.60 a share, from $892 million, or $1.90, a year earlier, Columbus, Georgia-based Aflac said today in a statement posted on its website. Operating earnings, which exclude some investing results, were $1.69 a share, beating the $1.58 average estimate of 19 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.
Chief Executive Officer Dan Amos, 62, counts on Japan to generate about three-quarters of Aflac's profit. Results have been pressured as the country's currency weakened, and Aflac has been shifting some Japanese investments to U.S. bonds as yields on yen-denominated debt remain near record lows.
Complete your profile to continue reading and get FREE access to BenefitsPRO, part of your ALM digital membership.
Your access to unlimited BenefitsPRO content isn’t changing.
Once you are an ALM digital member, you’ll receive:
- Breaking benefits news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
- Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
- Critical converage of the property casualty insurance and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, PropertyCasualty360 and ThinkAdvisor
Already have an account? Sign In Now
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
