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Georgia-Pacific warns
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December 21, 2000: 3:03 p.m. ET
First quarterly loss in building products since '91 puts it well below target
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Forest products producer Georgia-Pacific Corp. warned Thursday that its current quarter earnings will be far below analysts estimates, following the similar warning Wednesday from competitor International Paper Co.
Georgia-Pacific said that the building products manufacturing segment of its Georgia-Pacific Group unit would operate at a loss for the quarter for the first time since 1991.
 "Operating results in these businesses have been affected by plant closures and weaker demand and pricing, particularly lumber, structural panels and gypsum," said the company's statement.
Georgia-Pacific Group includes all the company's manufacturing operations. It also has a unit called The Timber Co. (TGP: Research, Estimates) that manages its lands, sells raw timber, and has its own tracking stock.
The company did not give a new earnings range for the current quarter. Analysts surveyed by earnings tracker First Call had forecast earnings would fall to 58 cents a share in the period from $1.00 a share a year earlier, even as revenue was expected to climb to $5.4 billion from $5.2 billion a year earlier.
Georgia-Pacific's statement also pointed to downtime at pulp, paper, and containerboard manufacturing facilities as well as sharply higher energy costs at the Bellingham, Wash., tissue mill and at the company's packaging and gypsum facilities in the west. It also said it would take a charge in the period for its recent acquisition of paper maker Fort James Corp., as well as for facility closures, although it did not give the size of the charge.
The warning from International Paper Wednesday said its results would be hurt by a slowing economy and rising energy costs.
Shares of Georgia-Pacific Group (GP: Research, Estimates) gained 38 cents $28.13 in Thursday trading after the midday announcement. 
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