COLUMBUS, Ga., Aug. 13, 2015 /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 16.0 million shares that remained under a previous
authorization as of June 30, 2015,
bringing the total number of shares available for purchase to
approximately 56.0 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, 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.
In our second quarter of 2015 earnings release, we reinforced our
plan to repurchase $1.3 billion of
our common stock in 2015 and believe that over the next few years,
we'll be able to increase the capital available for deployment."
About Aflac
When a policyholder gets sick or hurt, Aflac pays cash benefits
fast. For nearly six decades, Aflac insurance policies have given
policyholders the opportunity to focus on recovery, not financial
stress. In the United States,
Aflac is the leading provider of voluntary insurance 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 one in four households.
Aflac individual and group insurance products help provide
protection to more than 50 million people worldwide. For nine
consecutive years, Aflac has been recognized by Ethisphere magazine
as one of the World's Most Ethical Companies. In 2015, Fortune
magazine recognized Aflac as one of the 100 Best Companies to Work
For in America for the 17th consecutive year. Also, in 2015,
Fortune magazine included Aflac on its list of Most Admired
Companies for the 14th time, ranking the company No. 1 in
innovation for the insurance, life and health category. 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 Pay℠, 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 document 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" 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; governmental
actions for the purpose of stabilizing the financial markets;
defaults and credit downgrades of securities in our investment
portfolio; exposure to significant financial and capital markets
risk; fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates; significant
changes in investment yield rates; credit and other risks
associated with Aflac's investment in perpetual securities;
differing judgments applied to investment valuations; significant
valuation judgments in determination of amount of impairments taken
on our investments; limited availability of acceptable
yen-denominated investments; concentration of our investments in
any particular single-issuer or sector; concentration of business
in Japan; decline in
creditworthiness of other financial institutions; deviations in
actual experience from pricing and reserving assumptions;
subsidiaries' ability to pay dividends to Aflac Incorporated;
ineffective risk management policies and procedures; changes in law
or regulation by governmental authorities; ability to attract and
retain qualified sales associates and employees; decreases in our
financial strength or debt ratings; ability to continue to develop
and implement improvements in information technology systems;
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; changes in U.S. and/or Japanese accounting standards;
failure to comply with restrictions on patient privacy and
information security; level and outcome of litigation; ability to
effectively manage key executive succession; catastrophic events
including, but not necessarily limited to, epidemics, pandemics,
tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes, tsunamis, acts of terrorism and
damage incidental to such events; ongoing changes in our industry;
events that damage our reputation; increased expenses for pension
and other postretirement plans; and failure of internal controls or
corporate governance policies and procedures.
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Analyst and investor contact – Robin Y.
Wilkey, 706.596.3264 or 800.235.2667; FAX: 706.324.6330 or
rwilkey@aflac.com
Media contact – Catherine Blades,
706.596.3014; FAX: 706.320.2288 or cblades@aflac.com
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SOURCE Aflac Incorporated