Aflac Expects to Resume Buybacks in 2011 of Up to 12 Million Shares a Year
Aflac Inc. is “increasingly likely” to resume its stock buyback program in 2011, and may repurchase 6 million to 12 million shares a year, Chief Executive Officer Daniel Amos said.
The world’s largest seller of supplemental health insurance will wait “a quarter or two” before making a decision on the buybacks, Amos said.
“Maybe 6 to 12 is kind of a resumption level if things continue to be stable to improved,” Amos told investors and analysts on a conference call. “We like the improvement in the securities values that we’ve seen” and “relative stabilization” in the fair value of the company’s investment portfolio.
Realized investment losses narrowed to $58 million in the second quarter from $249 million a year earlier, Aflac said yesterday as part of its second-quarter earnings report.
Amos said Aflac faces a “much more challenging” second half of the year in terms of sales comparisons. The company is based in Columbus, Georgia.
Aflac shares fell 88 cents, or 1.8 percent, at 10:13 a.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. Aflac is 7.5 percent higher this year.
To contact the reporter on this story: Hugh Son in New York at hson1@bloomberg.net
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