NORTHBROOK, Ill. -- Allstate Corp. on Tuesday reported a second-quarter profit that beat Wall Street's expectations as the insurer's disaster-related losses declined sharply from a year ago.

Net income for the period ended June 30 was $423 million, or 86 cents per share. That compared with a loss of $624 million, or $1.19 per share, in the same quarter a year ago, when Allstate was hammered by more than $2.3 billion in catastrophe losses from tornadoes, wildfires and storms.

In the latest quarter, catastrophe losses were just $819 million.

Operating income, which excludes gains on investments and other items, was 87 cents per share, well above the consensus forecast of analysts surveyed by FactSet, who expected 53 cents per share, on average. Analysts' estimates typically exclude one-time items.

Revenue increased 2 percent to $8.28 billion.

Allstate, based in Northbrook, Ill., improved its property-liability combined ratio to 98, down from 123.3 a year before. That's a sum of an insurer's loss ratio and expense ratio. A ratio above 100 means that for every premium dollar taken in, more than a dollar went to cover claims and expenses. A figure below 100 means the company made a profit on its insurance operations.

Property-liability premiums written grew nearly 4 percent to $6.86 billion, in part due to Allstate'sOctober 2011 acquisition of Esurance, which sells car insurance online directly to consumers.

Higher average homeowner insurance premiums helped offset a decline in Allstate brand homeowners and standard auto policies.

Allstate shares fell 46 cents to close at $34.30 in the regular session. After the company's after-market earnings announcement, the stock added $1.35 and rose nearly 4 percent to $35.65 in extended trading. At Tuesday's closing bell, the shares were up 23 percent for the year.