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Armstrong Inspiring WORLD INDUSTRIES Great Spaces ™ Armstrong World Industries Reports First Quarter 2021 Results April 27 , 2021 Key Highlights • Net sales up 1 % versus the prior year quarter • Operating income down 29 % versus the prior year quarter • Adjusted EBITDA down 12 % versus the prior year quarter -- • Maintaining 2021 guidance : Net Sales of + 10 % to + 13 % and adjusted EBITDA of + 9 % to + 13 % LANCASTER , Pa . , April 27 , 2021 ( GLOBE NEWSWIRE ) Armstrong World Industries , Inc. ( NYSE : AWI ) , a leader in the design , innovation and manufacture of commercial and residential ceiling , wall and suspension system solutions , today reported financial results for the first quarter 2021 . " The first quarter of 2021 was a solid start to what we expect will be a robust year of growth for AWI , " said Vic Grizzle , President and CEO of Armstrong . " We are encouraged by the re - openings in many of our markets and progress toward broader economic recovery , highlighted by the record order intake for our Architectural Specialties products in the first quarter . We remain confident that our actions over the past year have strengthened our position to capitalize on a market recovery in 2021 and beyond . I am especially pleased to see growing interest and engagement in our Healthy Spaces initiatives . We are squarely focused on the emerging opportunity to provide solutions designed to facilitate a return to safe and sustainable indoor spaces . " First Quarter Results from Continuing Operations ( Dollar amounts in millions except per - share data ) Net sales Operating income Earnings ( loss ) from continuing operations Diluted earnings ( loss ) per share For the Three Months Ended March 31 , 2021 2020 Change $ 251.9 $ $ 54.1 $ $ 37.5 $ 248.7 76.0 ( 222.6 ) 1.3 % ( 28.8 ) % Favorable $ 0.78 $ ( 4.64 ) Favorable Consolidated net sales for the first quarter of 2021 increased 1.3 % over the same period in 2020 due to favorable Average Unit Value ( AUV ) of $ 5 million , partially offset by lower volumes of $ 2 million . Mineral Fiber net sales decreased by $ 9 million and Architectural Specialties net sales increased by $ 12 million . Volumes for both the Mineral Fiber and Architectural Specialties segments were pressured by lower market demand due to COVID - 19 which began impacting the Company's sales activity in the second quarter of 2020. These declines were more than offset by a $ 17 million increase in net sales attributable to the acquisition of Turf Design , Moz Designs and Arktura in 2020 . Operating income decreased in line with Company expectations from the strong prior year quarter , driven primarily by lower sales volume in the Mineral Fiber segment and higher SG & A costs attributable to incentive compensation accruals and incremental costs from the 2020 acquisitions . These headwinds were partially offset by favorable AUV , improved manufacturing productivity and an increase in WAVE equity earnings . Prior year period net earnings were impacted by the transfer of certain pension benefit obligations and assets of the U.S. Retirement Income Plan ( RIP ) , which resulted in a $ 374 million settlement loss recorded in 2020 . Additional ( non - GAAP * ) Financial Metrics from Continuing Operations ( Dollar amounts in millions except per - share data ) Adjusted EBITDA Adjusted net income Adjusted diluted earnings per share Adjusted free cash flow For the Three Months Ended March 31 , 2021 2020 Change $ 85 $ 97 ( 12.0 ) % $ 41 $ 54 ( 24.5 ) % $ 0.84 $ 1.10 ( 23.4 ) % $ 23 $ 36 ( 37.9 ) % * The Company uses the above non - GAAP adjusted measures in managing the business and believes the adjustments provide meaningful comparisons of operating performance between periods . The Company also believes that the adjustments help users of our financial information understand the effect of those adjusted items on our selected reported results and provide useful alternative measurements of performance . See Supplemental Reconciliations of GAAP to non - GAAP Results ( below ) for a breakdown of the adjustments and a reconciliation of the selected reported