Aflac Affirms 2015 Operating EPS Objective; Hikes Dividend By 5.1%

(RTTNews) - Aflac Incorporated (AFL) reiterated its expectation that the growth of operating earnings per share for full year 2015 will be in the range of 4% to 7% on a currency neutral basis.

"If the yen averages 120 to 125 to the dollar for the fourth quarter, we would expect earnings in the fourth quarter to be approximately $1.36 to $1.56 per share and full-year reported operating earnings to be about $5.96 to $6.16 per share," CEO Daniel Amos stated.

The company noted that Aflac Japan, its largest earnings contributor, generated strong financial results in yen terms for the third quarter. Additionally, Aflac Japan's third sector sales results exceeded the company's expectations, generating strong production across all channels. The company upwardly revised its sales growth target for third sector products from the range of 7% to 10% to the range of 10% to 13% for the full year.

The board of Aflac announced a 5.1% increase in the quarterly cash dividend, effective with the fourth quarter payment. The fourth quarter dividend of $0.41 per share is payable on December 1, 2015, to shareholders of record at the close of business on November 18, 2015.