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: I'm Ian Hudson, the company's Chief Financial Officer.
Also with me on the call today is Jennifer Sherman, our President and Chief Executive Officer.
These documents are available on our website.
In addition, we will file our Form 10-K later today.
Jennifer is going to start today with her perspective on our performance, and then I will provide some more detail on our fourth quarter and full year financial results.
Jennifer will then go over our outlook for 2021 before we open the line up for any questions.
I'm immensely proud of how our teams have managed through these challenging times.
It's hard to believe that it's been a little over a year since the first COVID-19 patient was reported in the U.S. Since the outbreak of the pandemic, the health and safety of our employees has been our highest priority, and we worked quickly to implement a host of measures to establish a safe work environment for our employees.
These steps have included adjusting our office spaces and production processes at our facilities to comply with safe distancing guidelines.
During 2020, we invested in temperature screening capabilities at most of our facilities, issued a mandatory face mask policy, provided our employees with additional paid time off and made at-home test kits available for free to our employees and their family members.
As the national COVID-19 vaccine distribution has gotten under way, it is clear to me that vaccinating our workforce is the single most effective tool at our disposal to protect our employees and customers and keep our businesses operating efficiently.
In a nutshell, putting this pandemic behind us is critical to our long-term success.
So with that in mind, we recently kicked off a companywide effort to raise awareness about COVID-19 vaccines, assist eligible employees in gaining access to available vaccines and encourage participation levels.
Through the pandemic, our businesses have worked closely with local health departments.
In Illinois, where we have three of our largest manufacturing facilities, many of our employees are now eligible to receive vaccine as essential workers.
In partnership with the local health department, we have organized an on-site vaccination event in March for all eligible employees at that site.
I'm extremely appreciative to everyone that helped make this happen and hope that we can host similar events at our facilities in other states when our employees become eligible.
In addition to protecting our employees, one of our objectives in launching this initiative is to provide comfort to the customers and suppliers with whom we frequently interact in-person that our high percentage of our customer-facing employees have received a vaccine.
We also want to provide a mechanism to encourage eligible employees to feel more comfortable traveling to support our customers.
Sharing the same sentiment as others, we are anxious to move beyond COVID.
During the fourth quarter, with the resurgence in cases across much of the country, many of our businesses experienced COVID-related disruptions.
The fact that we are able to navigate through these issues and deliver strong results was a real testament to our teams.
There is no doubt that these remain tumultuous and uncertain times.
However, this experience has confirmed my strong belief that our workforce is unparalleled in its passion, commitment and grit.
And while we may have some challenging days or periods, I am confident that we will ban together and work through these challenges as we have many others.
Overall, our performance in the fourth quarter represented a strong finish to 2020, a year in which we delivered the second highest adjusted earnings per share in the company's history, surpassed only by the $1.79 per share reported in 2019.
The despite the impact of the pandemic on our top line, I was pleased with how our teams responded quickly, taking actions to control costs, which not only preserved our EBITDA margin but improved it by 40 basis points on a year-over-year basis.
In fact, both of our groups exceeded the upper end of their current target EBITDA margin ranges in 2020.
While many companies can serve capital in 2020, we were proactive in taking a number of actions to position the company well for 2021 and beyond as we continue to focus on our long-term growth objectives by funding strategic investments to support the future growth of the company in three critical areas.
First, we have made significant investments in our existing plants to add additional capacity to support our long-term growth and to gain operational efficiencies through the use of newer machinery and equipment.
We recently completed our plant expansion at Vactor, and are making progress on expansions of our manufacturing facilities in Rugby, North Dakota and Lake Crystal, Minnesota.
Earlier in the year, we also completed the expansion of our MRL facility in Billings, Montana.
Second, we continue to invest in new product development, and we are seeing the benefits from these efforts with an estimated $200 million of revenue in 2020 being generated from the sales of products introduced in the last three years.
Among those products was the 2100 I full-size tower cleaner, which we launched in 2018.
The 2100 I sewer cleaner introduced intelligent controls on the truck and was entirely designed around our customers' needs for ease of use and operability.
two years following the launch, we continue to see strong results from that product line and positive customer feedback on the design.
During 2020 and on the back of our success with the 2100 I, we launched a smaller sewer cleaner and a truck jetter machine that incorporates the same intelligent controls as the 2100 I. The initial response to these products has been very positive.
TBEI, our dump bodies business was also successful in bringing several new products to market in 2020, addressing specific customer needs or improving our competitive positioning.
A few examples, I would note, are the launch of the J Craft Apex dump body, which features smooth sides with no seems in a tough dump body that results in a significantly better flow of materials for the end user and the DuraTuff, which is a heavy-duty abrasion resistant dump body with a simplified design that allows us to manufacture and fulfill the needs of our customers within a lead time of approximately six weeks which is much shorter than manufacturers of competitor products.
Overall, revenues from these new products accounted for nearly 10% of TBIS overall revenues during a year in which TBI delivered the highest EBITDA margin under our ownership.
Within SSG, we've increased our recurring revenue streams through Commander one, a product that leverages our existing installed base of outdoor warning siren and provides a unique differentiator for Federal Signal siren control equipment.
Of our total R&D spend in 2020, approximately 20% was invested in electrification projects, and we are pleased to report that during the fourth quarter, we received our first orders for our hybrid electric street sleeper.
Electrification will continue to be an important initiative for the company moving forward.
Third, we reacted quickly to introduce several new digital marketing tools to enhance the customer experience of our customers under reclaiming Tomorrow Together initiative.
These tools, which include virtual equipment demonstrations and digital training academies allow us to reach our customers in a new way.
We also launched our e-commerce site in the fourth quarter, which initially focuses on certain product lines within our safety and security Systems group.
Our strong cash flow generation supports not only these organic growth initiatives but also ongoing debt repayment, cash returns to shareholders and acquisitions.
In June of 2020, we completed the acquisition of PWE.
And last week, we completed the acquisition of OSW equipment and repair.
In October of 2020, we issued our inaugural long-form sustainability report.
I'm incredibly proud of the progress we've made on our environmental, social and governance initiatives and thrilled to share are many accomplishments through the issuance of this report.
With our commitment to continuous innovation, strong governance, and reduced resource consumption, we continue to build and deliver equipment that has beneficial impacts to both the environment and human safety.
We are proud to be a company whose products have inherent environmental and social importance, and we hope that our pride is evident upon reading the report.
Let me now spend a minute on our recent acquisition, OSW.
OSW is a leading manufacturer of dump truck bodies and a custom upfitter of truck equipment and trailers and is headquartered in Snohomish, Washington with an upfitting location in Tempe, Arizona, and a service center in Edmonton, Alberta.
Since acquiring TBEI in 2017, the geographic expansion of our existing platform of market-leading dump bodies and trailers has been an important strategic initiative.
The acquisition of OSW represents a highly strategic transaction, adding three premier brands that serve attractive infrastructure, construction and other industrial end markets on the West Coast, Arizona and in parts of Canada.
We have previously noted that our dump truck businesses have a general correlation with new housing starts.
The region in which OSW operates along the West Coast, have been the fastest-growing areas in the country in the last five years.
To capitalize on that growth potential and expand its reach, OSW completed two acquisitions in recent years and represents a good anchor tenant for future growth on the West Coast.
With its main operations located in Washington state where the coronavirus pandemic first hit in the U.S., OSW's financial performance was adversely impacted in 2020.
However, it is a company with strong brands, several long-term contracts with municipalities and a reputation for making quality products.
The acquisition will also extend our current product offerings by filling in several gaps in the TBEI's existing trailer portfolio.
Although we expect this acquisition to be neutral to our 2021 earnings, the acquisition provides considerable opportunity for long-term value creation through the application of our 80/20 improvement principles, organic growth initiatives and additional bolt-on acquisitions.
Overall, our fourth quarter results represent a strong finish to the year.
Before I talk about the fourth quarter, let me highlight some of our full year results.
Consolidated net sales for the year were approximately $1.13 billion, down about 7% compared to the prior year.
Operating income for the year was $131.4 million compared to $147.1 million in the prior year.
Consolidated adjusted EBITDA for the year was $182.2 million compared to $191.3 million in the prior year.
That translates to a margin of 16.1% for the year, up 40 basis points from the prior year and above the high end of our target range.
GAAP earnings for the year equated to $1.56 per share compared to $1.76 per share in 2019.
On an adjusted basis, we reported full year earnings of $1.67 per share compared to $1.79 per share in the prior year.
For the rest of my comments, I will focus mostly on comparisons of the fourth quarter of 2020 to the fourth quarter of 2019.
Consolidated net sales for the quarter were $295 million compared to $314 million in the prior year.
Consolidated operating income for the quarter was $33.8 million compared to $36.4 million in the prior year.
On an adjusted basis, consolidated operating margin was 12%, up 10 basis points from the prior year.
Consolidated adjusted EBITDA for the quarter was $47 million compared to $48.5 million in the prior year.
That translates to a margin of 15.9% for the quarter, an improvement of 50 basis points over the prior year.
Income from continuing operations for the quarter was $26 million compared to $29.7 million in the prior year.
That equates to GAAP earnings per share of $0.42 per share for the quarter compared to $0.48 per share in the prior year.
On an adjusted basis, earnings per share for the quarter was $0.44 per share, which compares to $0.48 per share in the prior year.
Orders for the quarter were $276 million, down from record levels in the prior year quarter, but up $10 million or 4% from the third quarter of 2020.
That momentum continued into 2021, with strong order intake in January, contributing to a backlog of $330 million at the end of last month.
That represents an increase from $304 million at the end of 2020.
In terms of our fourth quarter group results, ESG sales were $238 million compared to $252 million in the prior year.
ESG's adjusted EBITDA for the quarter was $44.2 million, up 1% from the prior year.
That translates to an adjusted EBITDA margin for the quarter of 18.6%, above our target range and up 120 basis points from the prior year.
Our aftermarket revenues for the quarter were up about 11% year-over-year, again contributing to the strong margin performance.
Overall, our aftermarket revenues represented roughly 25% of ESG's revenues for the quarter, which is up from 21% in the prior year period.
SSG sales for the quarter were $57 million compared to $62 million in the prior year.
SSG's adjusted EBITDA for the quarter was $11.2 million compared to $12.6 million in the prior year, and its adjusted EBITDA margin for the quarter was 19.6% compared to 20.3% in the prior year.
Corporate operating expenses for the quarter were $9.8 million compared to $8.4 million in the prior year with the increase primarily related to unfavorable fair value adjustments of certain post-retirement reserves, which represented a headwind of about $0.02 in the quarter and higher M&A expenses.
Turning now to the consolidated income statement, where the decrease in sales contributed to a $5.6 million reduction in gross profit.
Consolidated gross margin for the quarter was 25.7% compared to 25.9% in the prior year.
As a percentage of sales, our selling, engineering, general and administrative expenses for the quarter were down 40 basis points from the prior year.
Other items affecting the quarterly results include a $700,000 increase in acquisition-related expenses, a $1.1 million increase in other income and a $600,000 reduction in interest expense.
Compared to the prior year, tax expense for the quarter increased by $2.8 million, largely due to the recognition of fewer discrete tax benefits than in the prior year quarter.
Although it was up on a year-over-year basis, our effective tax rate for the quarter was lower than we expected at around 23%, primarily due to the recognition of benefits associated with stock compensation activity and other discrete items, which collectively added about $0.03 to our fourth quarter EPS.
For 2021, we currently expect a tax rate of approximately 24%.
That rate includes an estimate of tax benefits associated with stock compensation activity, similar to those recognized in recent years.
On an overall GAAP basis, we, therefore, earned $0.42 per share in the quarter compared with $0.48 per share in the prior year.
To facilitate earnings comparisons, we typically adjust our GAAP earnings per share for unusual items.
During the fourth quarter, we made adjustments to GAAP earnings per share to exclude acquisition-related expenses, pension-related items, coronavirus-related expenses and purchase accounting expense effects.
On this basis, our adjusted earnings for the quarter were $0.44 per share compared with $0.48 per share in the prior year.
Looking now at cash flow, where we generated $57 million of cash from operations in the quarter, bringing the total amount of operating cash generation for the year to $136 million.
That represents a year-over-year improvement of $33 million or 32%.
The improved cash flow facilitated a $30 million debt reduction in the quarter as well as continued strategic investments in new machinery and equipment and other organic growth initiatives like the expansion of several of our manufacturing facilities.
In 2021, we are currently anticipating that our capex, including investments associated with ongoing plant expansions will be lower than in 2020 and in the range of between $20 million and $25 million.
We ended the year with $128 million of net debt and availability of $280 million under our credit facility.
As a reminder, we executed a new five year $500 million credit facility in July of 2019.
We also have the option to trigger an increase in our borrowing capacity by an additional $250 million for acquisitions.
Our net debt leverage remains low even after factoring in the OSW acquisition that we completed last week.
We remain committed to our long-term capital allocation priorities of investing in organic growth initiatives, pursuing strategic acquisitions and funding cash returns to shareholders.
On that note, we paid a dividend of $0.08 per share during the fourth quarter, amounting to $4.9 million, and we recently announced that we are increasing the dividend by 13% to $0.09 per share in the first quarter.
That concludes my comments.
And now I would now like to turn back the call to Jennifer for our outlook for 2021.
Looking forward, we remain focused on delivering strong results while continuing to execute on our long-term strategy.
Our strong balance sheet provides opportunities for us to drive both our organic growth initiatives and pursue additional strategic acquisitions like OSW.
Over the last several years, we have transformed our end market exposure and implemented a revenue-diversification strategy that has enabled us to adjust as needed to market conditions.
Our aftermarket business has grown to represent about 1/4 of ESG's revenues, and we see additional opportunities to grow that business.
For example, late in 2020, we accelerated an initiative at one of our FS solution centers to expand our parts offerings by in-sourcing manufacturing of certain parts that we had previously procured from third parties.
We have also worked to develop strong contingency planning protocols, continue our journey of 80/20 and invest for growth.
We are closely monitoring the potential actions that the new administration may take to boost the economy, including potential federal stimulus packages that may be provided at the state or local level to aid municipalities whose budgets have been impacted by the pandemic and a potential infrastructure bill.
While there's still uncertainty as to the magnitude and timing of any federal stimulus package, I would like to provide a framework of what we know and what we believe the potential benefit to Federal Signal could be.
The initial proposal under the American Rescue Plan, COVID relief package call for approximately $1.9 trillion of economic stimulus with initial projections of approximately $350 billion going to state, local and territorial governments with the goal of keeping frontline workers employed, distributing the vaccine, increasing testing, reopening schools and maintaining essential services.
As the provider of equipment used for these essential services like sewer cleaning and street sweeping, Federal Signal is well positioned to benefit from additional aid that may be provided to state and local sources for these purposes.
We have recently completed our annual market planning process with our dealer partners, and they remain cautiously optimistic about market conditions in 2021, noting that both corporate and sales tax collections appeared to have held up better than originally anticipated, which should add stability to their revenue sources.
Although the dollar amounts that have been cited in the potential infrastructure bill are uncertain, it is clear that the U.S. is in desperate need of renewed investment in its infrastructure.
An estimated 47,000 bridges and 40% of our highways are in need of replacement, whereas entire sewer systems have exceeded their useful life cycles.
We expect that a long-term infrastructure bill will provide visibility for project planning, I could see capital equipment demand increase in such areas as roads, bridges, broadband, clean energy and public transportation build-outs.
We anticipate that this would provide benefits for the majority of our product offerings, including equipment sales and rentals of dump truck and trailers, safe digging trucks, road marking equipment, sewer cleaners and street sweepers.
Within our industrial markets, we continue to be bullish about our prospects with respect to our safe digging initiative and are monitoring further developments on the regulatory front.
We are also optimistic that the recent increase in oil prices could generate increased demand for the sale and rental of our industrial products.
We have positioned Federal Signal in a manner in which we fully participate in the post-pandemic recovery by increasing capacity within our facilities, reducing lead times to a level where we can better respond to customer needs, investing in new product development and gaining market share.
On the flip side, we are anticipating that some of the cost savings that resulted from actions taken in 2020 are expected to return in 2021, representing an estimated year-over-year expense headwind of approximately $8 million.
Like many companies, we have noted an increase in material costs over the last several weeks, and we are responding accordingly.
We are also monitoring the availability of chassis at certain locations linked to a nationwide shortage in semiconductors and expect to be proactive where appropriate, so that any supply chain disruption is minimized.
This could have more of an impact on TBEI.
As we get more visibility into the year, including the timing of widely available vaccine, we are committed to increasing our target EBITDA margin range.
On the M&A front, our deal pipeline remains active and some of the logistical challenges that were experienced in 2020 have started to ease a little.
We continue to believe that M&A will be an important part of our future growth.
Now turning to our outlook.
We are encouraged by conditions in our end markets and the ongoing execution against our strategic initiatives and are monitoring the potential for additional tailwinds.
As a reminder, seasonal effects typically result in our first quarter earnings being lower than subsequent quarters.
Mainly due to the pandemic, 2020 was a bit of anomaly in that regard.
We started off 2020 with record production levels during the first quarter at our largest facility and minimal impact from the pandemic, which did not meaningfully impact our operations until the last few weeks in March.
In the first quarter of 2020, we also recognized a benefit of approximately $0.02 per share associated with fair value adjustments to certain reserves.
As a result, in 2020, our first quarter represented a higher share of our full year earnings than we typically would expect.
While we are very encouraged with recent order trends, including the sequential quarterly order improvements that we experienced since the second quarter of 2020, our operations are still being impacted by disruptions associated with the pandemic.
These factors range from operational inefficiencies related to employee absenteeism, to the impact of the recent lockdown measures that have been put in place across much of Canada, most notably in Ontario.
In addition, several of our businesses have been impacted by the adverse weather conditions that much of the U.S. has been experiencing in recent weeks.
For example, our three facilities in the Houston area and our dunk truck facilities in Alabama and Mississippi had to be closed for several days due to the harsh weather conditions.
Fortunately, we did not experience any significant damage to our operations, but we did lose several days of production.
Considering the factors impacting the first quarter, we currently anticipate the second half of 2021 to be stronger than the first half.
There still remains uncertainties surrounding COVID, commodity costs and chassis availability.
Yet despite this, we are expecting a strong year in 2021 with top line growth, double-digit improvement in pre-tax earnings and adjusted earnings per share of between $1.73 and $1.85.

user
q4 adjusted earnings per share $0.44 from continuing operations.
q4 earnings per share $0.42 from continuing operations.
q4 sales $295 million versus refinitiv ibes estimate of $291.6 million.
sees q4 adjusted earnings per share $1.73 to $1.85.
sees q4 sales $295 million.

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