Feb 10, 2010. /Lesprom Network/. Wausau Paper reported 4Q net income of $9.2 million, or 19 cents per share, compared with a net loss of $1.2 million, or 4 cents per share, for the same period the year before. Net sales declined to 7% to $257.8 million from $275.7 million, as The Business Journal of Milwaukee reported. Excluding one-time items, earnings were 14 cents per share for the quarter ended December 31, 2009, up from 3 cents a share the year before. Profits for the 2009 quarter were boosted by a net gain of $1.6 million, or 3 cents per share, from the sale of timberlands, and by 5 cents per share because of a tax credit related to the use of alternative fuels at its Mosinee facility. The company also recorded facility closure or machine shutdown charges in each quarter. Sales declined largely because of the closure of a paper mill in Jay, Maine. Thomas Howatt, President and CEO of Wausau Paper, said profitability improved behind cost saving measures and other restructuring actions. "Results were driven by cost reduction and cash conservation measures implemented early in 2009 as well as completion of multiyear business restructuring initiatives and several strategic capital projects," Howatt said. "These actions have improved our cost structure and competitive position while aligning our facilities with markets in which our technical capabilities provide a competitive advantage." For the year, Wausau Paper posted net income of $20.6 million in 2009, or 42 cents a share, compared with a net loss of $15.8 million, or 32 cents per share, in 2008. Net sales declined 13% to $1.03 billion from $1.19 billion. Wausau Paper produces and markets fine printing and writing papers, technical specialty papers, and “away-from-home” towel and tissue products.