You are given a text that consists of multiple sentences. Your task is to perform abstractive summarization on this text. Use your understanding of the content to express the main ideas and crucial details in a shorter, coherent, and natural sounding text. 
Text: Today we will be reviewing our third quarter 2020 financial result, and providing investors with an update on our transformation and our response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Further information can be found in our SEC filing.
Through their persistence and hard work, we successfully balanced lower sales by making durable changes to minimize cost.
We found innovative ways to engage with our customers and we kept our transformation plans on schedule.
We also overcame unprecedented global supply chain constraints, which was also challenging and improved tremendously since the early stages of the pandemic.
In addition, our pipeline of new products continues unabated with products that deliver innovative clinical solutions that are expected to drive incremental sales growth.
Taken all together, these actions should result in long-term improvements to our business since a public company forward it depend on its result.
We're pleased with our performance in the third quarter, achieving our 12th consecutive quarter of year-over-year improvement in adjusted EBITDA.
As guided, we delivered higher consolidated sequential net sales, driven by a double-digit increase in Europe as a result of the initial easing of public healthcare restrictions, primarily in France and Germany, with the U.K. still remaining fairly closed.
We continue to monitor our key markets and the potential impact on our business and believe we're prepared for the pandemic to sporadically recur during the winter months.
In North America, we saw a continued strength in respiratory products, offsetting diluted sales in mobility and seating products due to its longer quote order cycle, which we'll cover in more detail on later slides.
On the balance sheet, we retired a significant majority of the 2021 convertible notes, leaving just over $1 million maturing in February of next year.
Finally, our strong performance in the third quarter and our visibility into trends during the fourth quarter give us the confidence to raise our full year guidance for net sales and adjusted EBITDA.
Turning to Slide four.
In the third quarter, we delivered stronger operating income, both year-over-year and sequentially, continuing our track record of enhancing profitability.
Additionally, adjusted EBITDA improved year-over-year and grew nearly 50% sequentially, driven by higher net sales and lower SG&A expenses.
I'm pleased with our strong performance in this challenging environment, which demonstrates that our prior transformation initiatives are successfully driving improved results in line with expectations.
Turning to Slide five.
This is a chart we found helpful to depict the impact of the pandemic on our product lines over the past few quarters.
As expected, we continue to see above normal demand for our respiratory products, specifically stationary oxygen concentrators, which are used as an essential part of COVID-19 care.
With 95% of our sales in Northern Hemisphere, we anticipate continued elevated demand as winter weather forces more people indoors with pandemic blues occurring as a result.
In our lifestyle category, we returned to more normal sales levels, having passed peak surge demand for bed and related products for pandemic care.
Product mix shifted toward at-home care away from normally higher levels of institutional sales that have been lower due to limited access to long-term care facilities and lower admissions of new residents.
In mobility and seating, we saw a general recovery in demand more immediately in Europe, which went from very strict measures to more normal healthcare access.
As a result, reported net sales in Europe improved over 38% sequentially, although still lower than third quarter 2019.
We saw a similar type of recovery in North America in the form of higher quote volumes in the third quarter, which we anticipate will lead to increase sales through the end of the year.
Globally, we continue to launch an exciting full line of new products in all categories that will continue to drive customer interest and sales regrowth overall.
We'll be ready to react to regional pandemic outbreak and related public healthcare measures, which we expect to sporadically affect sales, although not to the same extent as we experienced earlier this year.
We're pleased with the sequential improvement in consolidated net sales and believe this may be an early indicator that markets are beginning to recover.
Turning to Slide six.
Our solid third quarter results reflect the hard work the team has put into transforming the company.
We delivered year-over-year and sequential improvement in operating results, and we expect this trend to continue as sales accelerate.
As we close 2020, we remain on track with our key business initiatives.
In North America, our IT modernization program is expected to launch in the first phase of go live during the fourth quarter.
As the new and improved system rolls out across the region, these advanced systems should help us better engage with our customers with tools to improve the efficiency of our associates and optimize working capital.
Customers would be able to use a more typical set of e-commerce tools we've all come to expect in our personal life.
This more intuitive platform will advance our growth, and I'm excited about the many benefits the program we will provide both internally and externally.
In addition, our German plant consolidation remains on track for completion in 2020.
This consolidates operations across Germany and is expected to generate approximately $5 million in annual cost savings beginning in 2021.
Underscoring the strength of our innovation culture, we were honored to have received awards in many categories for product excellence from a broad North American industry publication, including for our standing power wheelchair system and our SMOOV power add-on product.
In addition, we were recognized by an expert rehabilitation organization for our contribution to the advancement in assistive technology rehabilitation engineering.
These awards speak volumes about our associates who are developing great solutions for complex healthcare needs.
In summary, we overcame multiple challenges during the quarter to drive sequential improvements in operating results and took actions to reduce total outstanding debt.
At the same time, we made good progress in our key transformation initiatives to optimize the business and we launched several new products.
We look forward to an equally successful fourth quarter to close out the year.
Turning to Slide eight.
Reported net sales declined 10.1%, primarily due to lower sales of mobility and seating and lifestyle products, partially offset by growth in respiratory products.
Gross profit was lower by 40 basis points to 28.3% due to unfavorable manufacturing variances as a result of the lower sales volume.
To offset this, we were able to drive constant currency SG&A down 12.5% or $7.8 million through reduced employment cost, lower commercial expenses and favorable foreign exchange.
As a result, operating income improved by 21.2% or $500,000 and adjusted EBITDA was $9.8 million, up 2.5%, including the benefit of reduced SG&A expenses.
Free cash flow usage was $1.8 million, unfavorable to the third quarter 2019 by $14.1 million due to working capital needed to support operating activities.
Turning to Slide nine.
Sequentially, reported net sales increased 8% and constant currency net sales increased 4.3%, driven by higher sales of mobility and seating products, including a 30% increase in Europe.
Gross profit was lower by 60 basis points to 28.3% due to unfavorable manufacturing variances as a result of lower sales volume and the expected mix of lower acuity products as elective care resumed.
Constant currency SG&A decreased 6% or $3.4 million, driven by lower stock compensation expense, which is typically higher in the second and fourth quarters of the year.
Operating income improved by $5.2 million, and adjusted EBITDA improved 48.7% or $3.2 million, driven by higher net sales and lower SG&A expenses.
Free cash flow usage was comparable to the second quarter due to the benefit of higher profitability and lower inventory.
As a result of lower net sales and higher working capital as compared to the third quarter 2019, we did not experience the same pattern of seasonality in free cash flow as we have historically.
Turning to Slide 10.
We experienced stronger sales of mobility and seating products, particularly in Europe.
Lifestyle products continue to be impacted by limited access to long-term care facilities, while demand for respiratory products remained high.
I will discuss the product lines in more detail within each segment.
Turning to Slide 11.
As a result of the initial easing of public healthcare restrictions, constant currency sequential net sales increased by 8%, driven by a 30.4% increase in sales of mobility and seating products, reflecting an early rebound in demand, particularly in France.
We are beginning to see positive momentum in sales in our key countries of France and Germany, although the U.K. remains under relatively significant restrictions, as Matt mentioned earlier.
Gross profit was 230 basis points lower due to the reduced net sales and unfavorable manufacturing variances, both impacted by the pandemic, which affected sales volume and product mix.
Operating income was lower by $3.8 million due to reduced gross profit from lower net sales, partially offset by actions reducing SG&A expenses, such as furloughs and reduced work hours.
Moving to Slide 12.
North America remained resilient, demonstrated by both year-over-year and sequential improvement in net sales.
Constant currency net sales increased 1.2%, with growth in respiratory products partially offset by lower sales of mobility and seating and lifestyle products.
As a result of the longer quote to order cycle for mobility and seating products in the U.S., lower sales in the third quarter were a direct result of lower quote activity in the preceding quarter when access to healthcare professionals and clinicians was limited.
Sequentially, constant currency net sales of mobility and seating products increased 0.2%.
We believe that demand for mobility and seating products are largely nonperishable, as evidenced by significant higher quotes in the third quarter, which are expected to convert into stronger sales for the remainder of the year.
Gross profit increased 170 basis points or $2.6 million, driven by higher net sales and lower material and freight costs from prior transformation initiatives, partially offset by unfavorable variances and higher warranty expense.
Operating income was $3 million, an improvement of $4.7 million, driven primarily by actions which lowered SG&A expense.
Turning to Slide 13, all other, which includes the sales of the Asia-Pacific region, decreased by 3.1% on a constant currency basis, driven by lower sales of mobility and seating products, partially offset by higher sale of lifestyle products.
Operating loss increased by $500,000 due to lower operating profit as a result of the dynamic control divestiture in the first quarter 2020 and improved $1.6 million sequentially, primarily driven by lower stock compensation expense.
Moving to Slide 14.
As of September 30, 2020, the company had total debt of $273 million, excluding operating and finance lease obligations.
As of September 30, 2020, the company had $87 million of cash on its balance sheet, which was sequentially lower, primarily as a result of proactively repurchasing $24.5 million of convertible notes in the third quarter.
We are pleased to have retired the significant majority of these notes, which increased our financial flexibility, reduced ongoing interest expense and leave a balance of less than $1.3 million maturing in February of 2021.
We remain confident that our balance sheet will support us through the transformation.
And as always, we continue to assess opportunities to further optimize our capital structure.
Turning to Slide 15.
As a result of the sequential improvement in business performance achieved in the third quarter and our visibility into the fourth quarter, we are updating our full year guidance for 2020.
The company anticipates consolidated net sales to improve sequentially in the fourth quarter 2020, but remain lower than the fourth quarter last year based on continuing access to healthcare facilities without new public health restrictions and from the adoption of new products.
While the markets are expected to continue to remain open, pandemic-related closures may vary in regions over the winter months.
For the full year 2020, the company now expects reported net sales of at least $840 million, up from the previous range of $810 million to $840 million, driven by the expected recovery of sales based on the recent trends we've seen in the early part of the fourth quarter.
Adjusted EBITDA in the range of $28 million to $32 million, up from the previous range of $27 million to $30 million due to the benefit of prior transformation actions and our continued ability to optimize cost.
And free cash flow usage in the range of $8 million to $12 million, changed from the previous range of 7% to 10%, given the timing of the recognition of sales during the fourth quarter delaying the collection of cash into the first quarter of 2021.
So far, 2020 has been a year like no other.
It's impossible to overuse the word unprecedented as the pandemic has impacted almost every aspect of our daily lives, yet while we were still able to achieve year-over-year improvement in our operating results despite those continuing challenges.
Over the company's recent history, we faced adversity and we've always been up to the task.
Our transformation initiatives will drive our return to profitability and create a stronger, more agile organization, which will unlock further shareholder value.
We're already seeing the results of the diligent work.
We know there's plenty more progress to be made ahead of these challenges.
I believe it's even stronger, and I'm confident in our continued progress.
We'll now take questions.

user
increases full year 2020 guidance for net sales and adjusted ebitda.
sees fy 2020 reported net sales of at least $840 million, up from previous range of $810 to $840 million.
sees fy 2020 adjusted ebitda in the range of $28 to $32 million, up from previous range of $27 to $30 million.
sees fy 2020 free cash flow usage in the range of $8 to $12 million, changed from previous range of $7 to $10 million.

assistant