COLUMBUS, Ga. (AP) _ Aflac Inc. (AFL) on Wednesday reported first-quarter earnings of $1.03 billion.

The Columbus, Georgia-based company said it had profit of $1.58 per share. Earnings, adjusted for non-recurring gains, came to $1.42 per share.

The results surpassed Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of six analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of $1.38 per share.

The insurer posted revenue of $5.27 billion in the period, also topping Street forecasts. Six analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $5.16 billion.

Aflac shares have increased 4% since the beginning of the year, while the S&P's 500 index has dropped 12%. In the final minutes of trading on Wednesday, shares hit $60.82, a climb of 14% in the last 12 months.

This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on AFL at https://www.zacks.com/ap/AFL

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