Columbus
Ledger-Enquirer (GA) October 29, 2018
Oct. 25--If it
weren't so famous for its wildly popular Aflac duck campaign, the supplemental
insurer headquartered on Wynnton Road in Columbus could easily promote itself
as a cash cow.
That's because
Aflac on Wednesday reported a surging profit in the third quarter of 2018, as
well as for the first nine months of this year, giving investors in its stock
and employees who rely on the company for their livelihood plenty to cheer
about.
Dan Amos, Aflac's
chairman and chief executive officer, said in a statement that the numbers for
the July-September period "reflected solid performance" in both the
U.S. and Japan, the latter comprising more than 75 percent of the company's supplemental
health and life insurance sales. He also noted progress was made on realizing
the firm's goals for the full year.
Here are the
highlights from Aflac's third-quarter earnings report, financial information
that is also filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission:
The bottom line
The firm's profit,
or net earnings, in the quarter came to $845 million, which was 18 percent
higher than the $716 million reported in the third quarter of 2017. That
equates to earnings per diluted share of $1.10 in the latest quarter, up from
91 cents per share a year ago.
That profit came on
total revenues of $5.6 billion in the quarter, 1.3 percent higher than $5.5
billion a year ago.
Adjusted earnings
per share, which deducts one-time financial gains and losses, were $1.09, which
beat by a dime per share what Wall Street analysts who follow the company had
been anticipating.
Through the first
nine months of this year, the firm's profit reached nearly $2.4 billion, up
18.5 percent from the January-September period in 2017, which equates to $3.10
per share. That was on total revenues of $16.6 billion, a 2.4 percent increase
from a year ago.
Amos: 2018 profit
could reach $4.06 per share
"Consistent
strong performance in the first nine months of the year puts us on track to
achieve the high end of our revised 2018 adjusted earnings per diluted share
guidance of $3.90 to $4.06, assuming the 2017 weighted-average exchange rate of
112.16 yen to the dollar," Amos said. "As always, we are working very
hard to achieve our earnings-per-share objective while also ensuring we deliver
on our promise to policyholders."
It keeps investors
coming back for more
Aflac's board of
directors approved a fourth-quarter dividend of 26 cents per share, which will
be payable Dec. 3 to those owning shares of the firm's stock at close of
business on Nov. 21. A notable feat is the dividend has now increased 36 years
in a row.
Investments, cash
and stock buybacks
The insurer's total
investments and cash are nothing at which to sneeze. As of Sept. 30, they
totaled $124.2 billion, up from $122.5 billion at the end of September last
year. The company said it also bought back 7 million shares of its common stock
valued at $322 million. That leaves it with just under 78 million shares
authorized by its board for repurchase.
"We remain
committed to maintaining strong capital ratios on behalf of our policyholders
and balancing our financial strength with increasing the dividend, repurchasing
shares and reinvesting in our business," Amos said. "We continue to
anticipate share repurchase will be in the range of $1.1 billion to $1.4
billion in 2018. At the same time, we recognize that prudent investment in our
platform is also critical to our growth strategy, as well as driving
efficiencies that will impact the bottom line for the long term."
Aflac's shares
slide to near their 52-week low
Aflac released its
third-quarter earnings report Wednesday after the close of the New York Stock
Exchange. On a brutal trading day in which the Dow tumbled 608 points and the
S&P 500 fell nearly 85 points, shares of Aflac slid $1.56 apiece, or 3.5
percent, finishing at $42.70. That's not far off the stock's 52-week trading
low of $41.41 per share. The 52-week high is $48.19 per share.
(c)2018 the Columbus
Ledger-Enquirer (Columbus, Ga.)
Visit the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer (Columbus, Ga.) at
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