Insurance holding company Torchmark Corp., which operates Liberty National Life, on Wednesday reported third-quarter profit fell 4 percent and announced its chairman will retire early next year.

The company, which operates a family of firms that specialize in middle-income individual life and supplemental health insurance, said Chairman C. B. Hudson will retire after some three decades at the company. Mark S. McAndrew, who succeeded Hudson as chief executive earlier this year, will become the new chairman.

During the quarter, Torchmark reported profit fell to $119 million, or $1.14 per share, compared with $124.1 million, or $1.12 per share, last year. The company had more outstanding shares in the year-ago period.

Operating income rose 2 percent to $121.9 million, or $1.16 per share, from $120 million, or $1.08 per share, a year earlier. The results matched Wall Street projects for $1.16 per share, according to analysts polled by Thomson Financial.

Insurance underwriting income rose 6 percent to $107.4 million. Torchmark said it booked a $3.7 million loss on the valuation of interest-rate swaps, compared with a year-earlier $3.4 million gain.

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