TransAlta second-quarter profit declines

OTTAWA, July 31 (Reuters)- TransAlta Corp (TA.TO), the power generator that has become a takeover target, said on Thursday its second-quarter profit fell 17.5 percent as it paid higher taxes and without last year's Centralia asset sale gain.

TransAlta, which runs coal and gas-fired power plants and renewable energy facilities in Canada and the United States, earned C$47 million ($46 million), or 24 Canadian cents a share, down from year-earlier C$57 million, or 28 Canadian cents.

The company said that on a comparable basis profit increased to C$49 million, or 25 Canadian cents a share, from C$42 million, or 20 Canadian cents a share. ($1=$1.02 Canadian) (Reporting by Susan Taylor; Editing by Frank McGurty)