UPDATE 1-Nelnet Q2 profit tops Wall Street view

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Aug 11 (Reuters) - Nelnet Inc (NNI.N), a consolidator of student loans, posted second-quarter profit well above Wall Street expectations as net interest income rose and operating expenses fell.

The company earned $43.7 million, or 89 cents a share, compared with $14.8 million, or 30 cents a share, a year earlier.

Excluding discontinued operations and restructuring charges, the company earned 54 cents a share, it said in a statement.

Analysts were expecting the company to earn 19 cents a share, excluding items, according to Reuters Estimates.

Net interest income rose 7 percent to $73.3 million.

Total operating expenses fell to $97.9 million, compared with $120.6 million in the year-ago quarter.

Provision for loan losses for the second quarter, however, more than doubled to $6.0 million.

Shares of the Lincoln, Nebraska-based company closed at $11.69 Monday on Nasdaq. (Reporting by Anurag Kotoky in Bangalore; Editing by Anil D'Silva)