CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (AP) – UnumProvident Corp., a provider of protection insurance, said Wednesday that second-quarter earnings fell from a year ago.

Net income slid to $125.2 million, or 38 cents per share, from $171.3 million, or 55 cents per share, in the year-ago period. The 2005 quarter included an investment gain of $42.6 million, or 13 cents per share.

The latest quarter included an investment loss of $3.6 million, or 1 cent per share, and a charge of $11.6 million, or 4 cents per share, related to early debt retirement.

Excluding items, income was $140.4 million, or 43 cents per share, versus $128.7 million, or 42 cents per share, in the year-ago period. Wall Street was looking for profit of 41 cents per share, according to Thomson Financial.

Revenue rose to $2.67 billion from $2.66 billion last year, exceeding the Street forecast of $2.62 billion.

Operating income was hamstrung by a decline at the company’s U.S. brokerage group income protection unit, which recorded operating income of $104.5 million versus $111.4 million last year.

UnumProvident reiterated its outlook for full-year operating earnings between $1.65 and $1.70 per share. Analysts expect earnings of $1.65 per share on revenue of $10.64 billion.

UnumProvident, which was created by the merger of Maine-based Unum and Chattanooga-based Provident, has nearly 12,000 employees, including 3,000 in Portland.

AP-ES-08-02-06 1700EDT