Aflac (NYSE: AFL) reported Q1 EPS of $1.05, $0.08 better than the analyst estimate of $0.97. Revenue for the quarter came in at $5.5 billion versus the consensus estimate of $5.47 billion.

• Excluding the impact of the stronger yen, adjusted earnings per diluted share increased 21.4% to $1.02.

OUTLOOK

Commenting on the company's results, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Daniel P. Amos stated: "We are pleased with the company's overall performance for the first quarter. With respect to Aflac Japan's conversion to a subsidiary, I am very pleased that we completed this transaction on time and that it remains within budget. This new corporate structure aligns Aflac with global regulatory frameworks and enhances our financial and business flexibility, while remaining consistent with our current financial strength ratings and enterprise risk management framework.

"Turning to our Japan operations, Aflac Japan, our largest earnings contributor, generated strong financial results for the quarter. As expected, third sector sales faced difficult comparisons, due in part to the launch of our refreshed medical product in the first quarter of 2017 and the planned introduction of our new cancer insurance product following the completion of the branch conversion. Despite this challenge, Aflac Japan generated sales results that were modestly weaker than our expectations. We continue to believe we will see improvements in third sector sales in the second half of the year. As we said during our December outlook call, in 2018, we anticipate that third sector earned premium will continue its steady growth in the 2% to 3% range, reflecting Aflac's stable sales and high persistency.

"With respect to our U.S. operations, we are pleased with the financial performance and strong profitability of Aflac U.S. in the quarter. Our sales results were consistent with our expectation for the first quarter. We continue to expect full year sales growth of 3% to 5%, with production skewed toward the fourth quarter. We believe we have the right strategy in place for growing our operations in the U.S. Ultimately, we believe our investments in distribution and customer experience objectives will yield strong sales and stable persistency, driving an earned premium growth outlook of 2% to 3% for the year.

"We remain committed to maintaining strong capital ratios on behalf of our policyholders and balancing our financial strength with increasing the dividend, repurchasing shares and reinvesting in our business. I am pleased with the Board's action to approve an increase in the first quarter cash dividend of 15.6%. The dividend increase is supported by the strength of our capital and cash flows. We continue to expect share repurchase will be in the range of $1.1 to $1.4 billion in 2018, which assumes stable capital conditions and the absence of compelling alternatives. At the same time, we recognize that prudent investment in our platform is also critical to our growth strategy and driving efficiencies that will impact the bottom line for the long term.

"Having benefited from the U.S. tax reform enacted in December 2017, we are leveraging the opportunity to accelerate and increase our investments in initiatives that reflect our company values and objectives. As we communicated, we expect to increase overall investment in the U.S. by approximately $250 million over three to five years. These strategic investments target continued growth in the company's U.S. operation, expanded employee benefits and training programs as well as investing in technology and digital businesses.

"I want to reiterate our 2018 earnings guidance. Our first quarter results reflect a strong start to the year and put us on track to produce stable adjusted earnings per diluted share of $3.72 to $3.88, assuming the 2017 weighted-average exchange rate of 112.16 yen to the dollar. If the yen averages 100 to 110 to the dollar for the second quarter, we would expect adjusted earnings, a non-U.S. GAAP measure, to be approximately $0.91 to $1.05 per diluted share in the second quarter. As always, we are working very hard to achieve our earnings-per-share objective while also ensuring we deliver on our promise to policyholders."

For earnings history and earnings-related data on Aflac (AFL) click here.