printing papers net sales for 2006 decreased 3% ( 3 % ) from both 2005 and 2004 due principally to the sale of the u.s .coated papers business in august 2006 .however , operating profits in 2006 were 43% ( 43 % ) higher than in 2005 and 33% ( 33 % ) higher than in 2004 .compared with 2005 , earnings improved for u.s .uncoated papers , market pulp and european papers , but this was partially offset by earnings declines in brazilian papers .benefits from higher average sales price realizations in the united states , europe and brazil ( $ 284 million ) , improved manufacturing operations ( $ 73 million ) , reduced lack-of-order downtime ( $ 41 million ) , higher sales volumes in europe ( $ 23 million ) , and other items ( $ 65 million ) were partially offset by higher raw material and energy costs ( $ 109 million ) , higher freight costs ( $ 45 million ) and an impairment charge to reduce the carrying value of the fixed assets at the saillat , france mill ( $ 128 million ) .compared with 2004 , higher earnings in 2006 in the u.s .uncoated papers , market pulp and coated papers businesses were offset by lower earn- ings in the european and brazilian papers busi- nesses .the printing papers segment took 555000 tons of downtime in 2006 , including 150000 tons of lack-of-order downtime to align production with customer demand .this compared with 970000 tons of total downtime in 2005 , of which 520000 tons related to lack-of-orders .printing papers in millions 2006 2005 2004 .
[['in millions', '2006', '2005', '2004'], ['sales', '$ 6930', '$ 7170', '$ 7135'], ['operating profit', '$ 677', '$ 473', '$ 508']]
u.s .uncoated papers net sales in 2006 were $ 3.5 billion , compared with $ 3.2 billion in 2005 and $ 3.3 billion in 2004 .sales volumes increased in 2006 over 2005 , particularly in cut-size paper and printing papers .average sales price realizations increased significantly , reflecting benefits from price increases announced in late 2005 and early 2006 .lack-of-order downtime declined from 450000 tons in 2005 to 40000 tons in 2006 , reflecting firm market demand and the impact of the permanent closure of three uncoated freesheet machines in 2005 .operating earnings in 2006 more than doubled compared with both 2005 and 2004 .the benefits of improved aver- age sales price realizations more than offset higher input costs for freight , wood and energy , which were all above 2005 levels .mill operations were favorable compared with 2005 due to current-year improve- ments in machine performance , lower labor , chem- ical and energy consumption costs , as well as approximately $ 30 million of charges incurred in 2005 for machine shutdowns .u.s .coated papers net sales were $ 920 million in 2006 , $ 1.6 billion in 2005 and $ 1.4 billion in 2004 .operating profits in 2006 were 26% ( 26 % ) lower than in 2005 .a small operating loss was reported for the business in 2004 .this business was sold in the third quarter of 2006 .during the first two quarters of 2006 , sales volumes were up slightly versus 2005 .average sales price realizations for coated freesheet paper and coated groundwood paper were higher than in 2005 , reflecting the impact of previously announced price increases .however , input costs for energy , wood and other raw materials increased over 2005 levels .manufacturing operations were favorable due to higher machine efficiency and mill cost savings .u.s .market pulp sales in 2006 were $ 509 mil- lion , compared with $ 526 million and $ 437 million in 2005 and 2004 , respectively .sales volumes in 2006 were down from 2005 levels , primarily for paper and tissue pulp .average sales price realizations were higher in 2006 , reflecting higher average prices for fluff pulp and bleached hardwood and softwood pulp .operating earnings increased 30% ( 30 % ) from 2005 and more than 100% ( 100 % ) from 2004 principally due to the impact of the higher average sales prices .input costs for wood and energy were higher in 2006 than in 2005 .manufacturing operations were unfavorable , driven primarily by poor operations at our riegel- wood , north carolina mill .brazil ian paper net sales for 2006 of $ 496 mil- lion were higher than the $ 465 million in 2005 and the $ 417 million in 2004 .the sales increase in 2006 reflects higher sales volumes than in 2005 , partic- ularly for uncoated freesheet paper , and a strengthening of the brazilian currency versus the u.s .dollar .average sales price realizations improved in 2006 , primarily for uncoated freesheet paper and wood chips .despite higher net sales , operating profits for 2006 of $ 122 million were down from $ 134 million in 2005 and $ 166 million in 2004 , due principally to incremental costs associated with an extended mill outage in mogi guacu to convert to an elemental-chlorine-free bleaching process , to rebuild the primary recovery boiler , and for other environmental upgrades .european papers net sales in 2006 were $ 1.5 bil- lion , compared with $ 1.4 billion in 2005 and $ 1.5 bil- lion in 2004 .sales volumes in 2006 were higher than in 2005 at our eastern european mills due to stron- ger market demand .average sales price realizations increased in 2006 in both eastern and western european markets .operating earnings in 2006 rose 20% ( 20 % ) from 2005 , but were 15% ( 15 % ) below 2004 levels .the improvement in 2006 compared with 2005 .

Question: what was the profit margin of printing papers in 2005
Answer: 6.6%