Buckeye Technologies Inc. has announced sales and earnings for the January–March 2009 quarter. The company’s results reflect reduced demand and associated production downtime in the Specialty Fibers segment resulting from the global economic downturn.

Net sales of $171.6 million for the quarter were down 15% compared to the same quarter a year ago, with sales in the Specialty Fibers segment down 18% and sales in the Nonwoven Materials segment only off 2%. Specialty Fibers sales were negatively impacted by reduced demand for cotton specialty fibers, wood specialty fibers used in automotive applications and fluff pulp. Net sales for the quarter were down 7% compared to the October-December quarter, primarily driven by reduced sales from its Memphis cotton cellulose plant.

Year-to-date net sales for 2009 totaled $577.6 million, down from $610.2 million in the same three quarters last year.

Quarterly earnings reached $4.28 million, a substantial drop compared to $10.4 million in the comparable 2008 period. For the nine-month period ended in March 2009, Buckeye saw a loss of $111.8 compared to earnings of $37.8 million in the same period last year.