COLUMBUS, Ga., Aug. 8, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Aflac Incorporated's
board of directors has authorized the purchase of up to 40 million
shares of its common stock. This authorization is in addition to
the 15.6 million shares that remained under a previous
authorization as of June 30, 2017,
bringing the total number of shares available for purchase to
approximately 55.6 million. The company anticipates that the
repurchase of shares will be conducted from time to time in open
market or negotiated transactions, depending on market
conditions.
Commenting on the news, Aflac Chairman and Chief Executive
Officer Daniel P. Amos stated: "I am
very pleased with this action by our board of directors. Whether
we're talking about our operations in Japan or the U.S., as an insurance company,
our primary mission is to fulfill our obligations to our
policyholders. At the same time, we are listening to our
shareholders and understand the importance of capital deployment."
About Aflac
When a policyholder gets sick or hurt,
Aflac pays cash benefits fast. For six decades, Aflac insurance
policies have given policyholders the opportunity to focus on
recovery, not financial stress. In the
United States, Aflac is the leader in voluntary insurance
sales at the worksite. Through its trailblazing One Day
PaySM initiative, Aflac U.S. can receive, process,
approve and disburse payment for eligible claims in one business
day. In Japan, Aflac is the
leading provider of medical and cancer insurance and insures 1 in 4
households. Aflac insurance products help provide protection to
more than 50 million people worldwide. For 11 consecutive years,
Aflac has been recognized by Ethisphere as one of the World's Most
Ethical Companies. In 2017, Fortune magazine recognized Aflac as
one of the 100 Best Companies to Work for in America for the 19th
consecutive year and in 2017 included Aflac on its list of Most
Admired Companies for the 16th time. In 2015, Aflac's contact
centers were recognized by J.D. Power by providing "An Outstanding
Customer Service Experience" for the Live Phone Channel. Aflac
Incorporated is a Fortune 500 company listed on the New York Stock
Exchange under the symbol AFL. To find out more about Aflac and One
Day PaySM, visit aflac.com or espanol.aflac.com.
Forward-Looking Information
The Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides a "safe harbor" to encourage
companies to provide prospective information, so long as those
informational statements are identified as forward-looking and are
accompanied by meaningful cautionary statements identifying
important factors that could cause actual results to differ
materially from those included in the forward-looking statements.
We desire to take advantage of these provisions. This report
contains cautionary statements identifying important factors that
could cause actual results to differ materially from those
projected herein, and in any other statements made by Company
officials in communications with the financial community and
contained in documents filed with the Securities and Exchange
Commission (SEC).
Forward-looking statements are not based on historical
information and relate to future operations, strategies, financial
results or other developments. Furthermore, forward-looking
information is subject to numerous assumptions, risks and
uncertainties. In particular, statements containing words such as
"expect," "anticipate," "believe," "goal," "objective," "may,"
"should," "estimate," "intends," "projects," "will," "assumes,"
"potential," "target", "outlook" or similar words as well as
specific projections of future results, generally qualify as
forward-looking. Aflac undertakes no obligation to update such
forward-looking statements. We caution readers that the following
factors, in addition to other factors mentioned from time to time,
could cause actual results to differ materially from those
contemplated by the forward-looking statements: difficult
conditions in global capital markets and the economy; exposure to
significant interest rate risk; concentration of business in
Japan; foreign currency
fluctuations in the yen/dollar exchange rate; failure to
execute or implement the conversion of the Japan branch conversion to a legal
subsidiary; limited availability of acceptable
yen-denominated investments; deviations in actual experience from
pricing and reserving assumptions; ability to continue to develop
and implement improvements in information technology systems;
governmental actions for the purpose of stabilizing the financial
markets; interruption in telecommunication, information technology
and other operational systems, or a failure to maintain the
security, confidentiality or privacy of sensitive data residing on
such systems; ongoing changes in our industry; failure to comply
with restrictions on patient privacy and information security;
extensive regulation and changes in law or regulation by
governmental authorities; defaults and credit downgrades of our
investments; ability to attract and retain qualified sales
associates and employees; decline in creditworthiness of other
financial institutions; subsidiaries' ability to pay dividends to
Aflac Incorporated; decreases in our financial strength or debt
ratings; inherent limitations to risk management policies and
procedures; concentration of our investments in any particular
single-issuer or sector; differing judgments applied to investment
valuations; ability to effectively manage key executive succession;
significant valuation judgments in determination of amount of
impairments taken on our investments; catastrophic events
including, but not necessarily limited to, epidemics, pandemics,
tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes, tsunamis, acts of terrorism and
damage incidental to such events; changes in U.S. and/or Japanese
accounting standards; loss of consumer trust resulting from events
external to our operations; increased expenses and reduced
profitability resulting from changes in assumptions for pension and
other postretirement benefit plans; level and outcome of
litigation; failure of internal controls or corporate governance
policies and procedures; and other risks and uncertainties
described from time to time in Aflac Incorporated's filings with
the SEC.
Analyst and investor contact – David A.
Young, 706.596.3264 or 800.235.2667; FAX: 706.324.6330 or
dyoung@aflac.com
Media contact – Catherine Blades,
706.596.3014; FAX: 706.320.2288 or cblades@aflac.com
View original content with
multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/aflac-incorporated-board-of-directors-increases-shares-authorized-for-repurchase-300501490.html
SOURCE Aflac Incorporated