China Unicom Ltd. (CHU) said Friday its first-half net profit fell 45% from a year earlier, dragged down by a decline in its fixed-line business and intensified market competition.

The company, China's second-largest mobile phone operator by subscribers after China Mobile Ltd., said in a statement its net profit for the six months ended June 30 was CNY6.62 billion, down from a restated CNY12.09 billion a year earlier.

The result was slightly higher than the average CNY6.54 billion forecast of eight analysts polled earlier by Dow Jones Newswires.

First-half revenue fell 6.3% to CNY76.32 billion from a restated CNY81.46 billion a year earlier.

The company restated the year-earlier figures to reflect its merger with fixed-line operator China Netcom Group Corp. in October.

-By Lorraine Luk, Dow Jones Newswires; 852-2802-7002; lorraine.luk@dowjones.com