UPDATE 1-Lincoln National Q2 oper profit tops Street view

* Q2 oper EPS $0.86 vs est $0.80

* Q2 aided by higher life insurance sales

July 28 (Reuters) - Lincoln National Corp (LNC.N) posted a 40 percent rise in quarterly operating profit, exceeding analysts' estimates, as the large life insurer was helped by higher life insurance sales.

The company said net income for the second quarter was $255 million, or 33 cents a share, compared with a net loss of $161 million, or 62 cents a share, a year ago.

On an operating basis, the company earned 86 cents a share.

Analysts were looking for an operating profit of 80 cents a share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Life insurance sales rose 13 percent to $140 million during the period.

Last month, Philadelphia-based Lincoln repaid close to a billion dollars worth of preferred stock issued to the U.S. Treasury, following a similar move by rival Hartford Financial Services Group (HIG.N) in March.

During the quarter, Lincoln had to write off $133 million related to the repayment.

Lincoln and Hartford were among a handful of life insurers to ask Washington for a cash injection last year after heavy investment losses and a surge in costs of stock market-linked annuities eroded capital.

Lincoln shares closed at $24.09 Wednesday on the New York Stock Exchange. (Reporting by Anurag Kotoky in Bangalore; Editing by Roshni Menon)