UPDATE 1-Central Pacific Financial Corp posts surprise Q2 loss

(Recasts; adds details, share movement)

July 31 (Reuters) - Central Pacific Financial Corp (CPF.N) posted a surprise quarterly loss, hurt by asset writedowns and a surge in provision for loan and lease losses, and slashed its dividend by 60 percent, sending its shares down as much as 18 percent.

The company posted a second-quarter operating loss of $146.3 million, or $5.10 a share, compared with a net income of $21.0 million, or 68 cents a share, a year earlier. Net revenue rose 1.5 percent to $65.4 million.

Excluding a non-cash goodwill impairment charge, the company posted a loss of $1.81 per share.

Analysts were expecting a profit of 9 cents a share, on revenue of $63.5 million, according to Reuters Estimates.

The company reduced its quarterly dividend to 10 cents per share from 25 cents a share.

The company said it wrote off the remaining goodwill, $94.3 million, allocated to the mainland operations in the face of a continued decline in the California housing market.

In July, the Honolulu, Hawaii-based company sold in bulk non-performing residential construction loans in California totaling $44.2 million.

"As we wrote these assets down to the sales price in the second quarter, we will not incur any additional losses related to these assets in the third quarter," Chief Financial Officer Dean Hirata said in a statement.

The provision for loan and lease losses increased to $87.8 million, up from $34.3 million at the end of the first quarter.

Shares of the company were down 20 cents at $11.57, after earlier falling to $9.68 on the New York Stock Exchange. (Reporting by Sriram Iyer in Bangalore; Editing by Bernard Orr) ((sriram.iyer@thomsonreuters.com; within U.S. +1 646 223 8780; outside U.S. +91 80 4135 5800; Reuters Messaging: sriram.iyer.reuters.com@reuters.net))