Hawaiian Telcom yesterday reported a $109.9 million fourth-quarter profit following the sale of the phone company's directories publishing business.

The results included a one-time after-tax gain of $130.3 million relating to the sale of Yellow Pages and White Pages publishing rights to Englewood, Colo.-based Local Insight Media LP.

Without the proceeds from the sale, Hawaiian Telcom, which is owned by The Carlyle Group, would have posted a loss for the quarter.

The gain compares with a loss of $29.9 million in the fourth quarter of 2006.

Revenues during the three months ended Dec. 31 fell 6.6 percent to $116.4 million, compared with the year-ago period.

That followed a continued decline in customer access lines, or land lines, which are driven by a defection of land-line phone users to cable and wireless competitors.

The number of access lines, which are a gauge of customer accounts, fell 7 percent during 2007 to 560,417, with most of the erosion coming in the residential market.

For the full year, Hawaiian Telcom earned $117.3 million, versus a $144.6 million loss during 2006. Revenues during 2007 fell 3.9 percent to $483.7 million.

"Hawaiian Telcom experienced a very challenging 2007, and since joining the company earlier this year, I have had the pleasure of meeting and talking with many employees, who in spite of the challenges have demonstrated a steadfast commitment to serving our customers," said Stephen Cooper, Hawaiian Telcom's chief executive officer.

Cooper, one of the nation's top turnaround experts, was brought in during February to run Hawaiian Telcom, which has been suffering from financial losses and customer service complaints.