<p>Paper and tissue manufacturer Georgia-Pacific Corp. cited higher raw materials and energy costs as it reported a more than 11 percent drop in second-quarter profit on a decline in revenue.</p><p>The results by the Atlanta-based maker of Brawny paper towels, announced before the market opened Thursday, missed Wall Street expectations by a penny a share.</p><p>Georgia-Pacific said it earned $194 million, or 73 cents a share, for the three months ending June 30, compared to a profit of $220 million, or 84 cents a share, for the same period a year ago.</p><p>Excluding unusual items, the company said it earned $217 million, or 82 cents a share. On that basis, analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial were expecting earnings of 83 cents a share.</p><p>Revenue in the April-June quarter fell more than 7 percent to $4.80 billion, compared to $5.19 billion a year ago. The company said that if it excludes sales from its building products distribution business, which was sold in May 2004, it saw a slight revenue increase in the quarter compared to a year ago.</p><p>"Our North America consumer products business achieved a 49 percent improvement in operating profit compared with the second quarter last year and our building products manufacturing business continued its near-record performance," said A.D. Correll, chief executive officer and chairman of Georgia-Pacific.</p><p>However, he said, "During the most recent quarter, raw materials and energy inflation increased our operating costs companywide by approximately $105 million compared with the second quarter in 2004. In addition, our operations were affected by planned and unplanned mill maintenance outages."</p><p>Besides Brawny and Quilted Northern, its consumer tissue brands include Angel Soft, Mardi Gras and Vanity Fair.</p><p>For the first six months of the year, Georgia-Pacific said it earned $399 million, or $1.51 a share, compared to a profit of $367 million, or $1.40 a share, in the same period a year ago. Six-month revenue was $9.41 billion, compared to $10.41 billion a year ago.</p><p>___</p><p>On the Net:</p><p>HASH(0x1cdc0c0)</p>
