Clearwater Paper Corp., of Spokane, reported this afternoon fourth-quarter 2012 net income of $19.9 million, or 84 cents a diluted share, up from $11.5 million, or 48 cents a share, in the year-earlier quarter.

For all of 2012, the company posted earnings of $64.1 million, or $2.72 a share, up from $39.7 million, or $1.66 a share, last year.

The increase in profitability occurred despite a slight drop in net sales in the fourth quarter, to $462.7 million from $466.4 million in the year-earlier quarter. For the year, sales declined to $1.87 billion last year from $1.93 billion in 2011.

Linda Massman, Clearwater's president and CEO, said in a press release that the company's new tissue machine in Shelby, N.C., came on line in time and below budget. Also, she says, the company realized $31 million in "net cost-saving synergies" from its 2010 acquisition of Alpharetta, Ga.-based tissue product maker Cellu Tissue Holdings Inc.

"We have a lot of work to do to achieve our aggressive growth plan, but we believe we are well positioned to do so," Massman said.