Mosinee, WI…January 30, 2001… Wausau·Mosinee Paper Corporation (NYSE:WMO) today reported net earnings of $1.1 million, or $0.02 per share, for the quarter ending December 31, 2000, as compared to $6.8 million, or $0.13 per share, for the fourth quarter of 1999. Adjusted for non-recurring items, fourth-quarter earnings per share would have been $0.01 in 2000 and $0.13 in 1999. Net earnings for the full year 2000 were $0.7 million, or $0.01 per share, as compared to earnings of $42.4 million, or $0.81 per share, for 1999. Annual results for 2000 were affected by a number of unusual items, including charges for the Sorg Paper Company closure, an anti-trust settlement, and the resignation of the company's former CEO. In addition, the results for both 2000 and 1999 were affected by stock incentive program charges or credits. Adjusted for these items, earnings for 2000 would have been $0.36 per share, compared to $0.76 per share in 1999. Net sales for the fourth quarter of 2000 were $222.6 million, as compared to $238.1 million a year ago. Net sales for all of 2000 totaled $952.1 million, an increase of 1% from $944.6 million for 1999. "The principal reasons for the decline in financial performance, both for the quarter and the full year, were weak market conditions, higher pulp costs and sharply rising energy costs," stated Thomas J. Howatt, President and Chief Executive Officer. "On a combined basis market pulp and energy costs increased by over $60 million in 2000, with fourth quarter energy costs alone increasing $5 million over 1999." "While the past year has been very challenging for our company and the industry as a whole, we also made significant strides," Mr. Howatt continued. "Our High Performance Liner (HPL) project came on line and trial product began to ship late in the year. Most company operations, including our two pulp mills, posted record production in 2000 and are principally performing as designed. Our new management team is in position and clearly focused on our efforts for future success. "As we look to 2001, we believe challenging market conditions and higher energy costs will continue at least through the first half of the year. This dictates that we focus intently on meeting customer needs while effectively managing those issues within our control---strong operations, well-managed working capital, new product development and tight cost controls. As part of this strategy we expect 2001 capital expenditures to be less than our rate of depreciation forecast at $60 million," Howatt concluded.