MONTREAL - Domtar Corp. reported a fourth-quarter loss of US$59 million compared with a loss of US$34 million in the same quarter a year earlier.

The pulp and paper company, which keeps its books in U.S. dollars, says the loss amounted to US$1.07 per diluted share for the quarter ende Dec. 31 compared with a loss of 59 cents per diluted share in the fourth quarter of 2019.

Sales in the quarter totalled US$920 million, down from US$1.03 billion in the same quarter a year earlier.

Excluding discontinued operations and other items, the company said it earned US$19 million or 34 cents per share for the fourth quarter of 2020, compared with a loss of US$9 million or 16 cents per share a year earlier.

In its outlook, Domtar says paper demand remains uncertain and dependent upon the recovery from the pandemic.

It expects near-term pulp markets to gradually improve driven by better demand, maintenance outages and restocking in China. Raw material and freight costs are expected to rise.