Aflac's Operating Profit Falls 1.9%

Aflac Inc. said its third-quarter operating earnings fell 1.9% as the impact of a weaker yen again weighed on the insurer's business in Japan.

Core earnings are a widely watched benchmark for the insurance industry because they exclude realized capital gains and losses from companies' investment portfolios, among other items that aren't considered recurring in nature.

For the year, Aflac raised its per-share operating earnings estimate to $5.96 to $6.16, from its previously increased estimate for $5.88 to $6.17.

For the current quarter, the company forecast per-share operating earnings of $1.36 to $1.56. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expect $1.47.

The company's board also raised its quarterly dividend 5.1% to 41 cents a share, an increase of two cents a share.

In U.S. dollar terms, premium income at the Japan business dropped 16% to $3 billion, while revenue decreased 15% to $3.6 billion and pretax operating earnings declined 4.7% to $789 million.

In the U.S., premium income rose 3% to $1.3 billion, while revenue rose 3.6% to $1.5 billion. Pretax operating earnings grew 6.2% to $286 million.

Aflac reported operating earnings of $672 million, down from $685 million a year earlier. On a per-share basis, operating earnings rose to $1.56 from $1.51 as the number of shares outstanding declined. The company had projected per-share operating earnings of $1.40 to $1.53.

Revenue decreased 12% to $5.04 billion, below analysts' expectations for $5.18 billion.

Write to Tess Stynes at [e-mail]

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 27, 2015 17:55 ET (21:55 GMT)

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