The results missed Wall Street expectations, and its shares fell $1.63, or 3.7 percent, to $42.24 in late morning trading.
The Lancaster, Pa., maker of flooring and building products reported a net loss of $21 million, or 36 cents per share, for the quarter ended Dec. 31, versus a net loss of $3.8 million, or 7 cents per share, a year earlier. Revenue fell 1.5 percent to $643 million from $653 million.
Excluding special items including cost reduction initiatives and asset impairments, the company said it would have had adjusted earnings of $6.3 million, or 11 cents per share.
Analysts polled by FactSet expected the company to earn 18 cents per share on revenue of $659.5 million. Analyst estimates generally exclude one-time items.
The company said fourth-quarter volume declined 2.5 percent and product costs rose due to lumber pricing. "Volume losses were especially significant in our Wood Flooring segment, where sales were down 11 percent despite modest mix and price improvements," the company said in a statement. The Wood Flooring segment experienced $20 million in increased costs due to lumber pricing versus the fourth quarter of 2009, the company said.
For the full year, Armstrong reported net income of $11 million, or 19 cents per share, down from $77.7 million, or $1.36 per share, in 2009. Full-year revenue in 2010 was down 0.5 percent to $2.8 billion.
For 2011, Armstrong expects developed markets to be flat with high single-digit growth in emerging markets.
Company management expects 2011 revenue to be $2.8 billion to $3 billion, and adjusted earnings per share to be from $2.04 to $2.53. Analysts expect earnings of $2.11 a share on revenue of $2.93 billion.
