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'll update you on the Company's fourth quarter results.
Jim has been our Corporate Controller since 2009 and was recently announced as my successor.
First, I want to congratulate Jim on his new position.
I've worked with him for more than 10 years and look forward to Jim further enhancing our business strategies and results in his new role.
We had a very strong first[Phonetic] quarter and delivered record sales of $2.6 billion, an increase of 9% as reported, with adjusted operating earnings and earnings per share of $305 million and $3.54.
The business was stronger than we had anticipated with residential markets outperforming around the globe.
Our free cash flow for the fourth quarter was about $248 million after capital investments of $160 million.
For the year, we generated a record cash flow of more than $1.3 billion.
In the first half of last year, our industry was under enormous stress as the pandemic spread, and we responded to this disruption by minimizing costs, lowering inventory levels, initiating restructuring actions, and reinforcing our liquidity.
In the second half, the residential flooring demand recovered significantly faster than expected, as people spent more time at home.
Meanwhile, commercial flooring demand remains depressed due to business investments being postponed or canceled.
Our inventory levels decreased in the second and third periods as sales strengthened and production was limited by capacity, workforce absenteeism and labor shortages.
SG&A investments and promotional activities were curtailed during the year to improve our margins.
The pandemic created substantial differences between our segments due to varying restrictions, stimulus, consumer responses and our ability to raise production levels.
Our revenues and operating income rebounded and surpassed the prior year for both the fourth quarter and the second half.
Our fourth quarter results exceeded our expectations as we posted our highest-ever quarterly sales, even with increasing COVID cases around the world.
All of our markets saw strengthening residential purchases with laminate, LVT and sheet vinyl outperforming other flooring categories.
Our residential performance was partially offset by a weak commercial market in the regions where we have more significant business in that channel.
Our results were improved by higher volumes, restructuring and greater leverage on costs while being adversely affected by lower production runs and inventory, absenteeism and labor shortages in some operations.
We are also seeing greater inflationary pressures in many product categories, and we are increasing prices to recover.
Our Flooring Rest of the World segment continued to outperform with significant sales growth, higher operating leverage and improved productivity.
The segment delivered further improvements in LVT production and cost, which enhanced our performance in the period.
Our Global Ceramic and Flooring North America segments also improved, although both experienced a greater impact from commercial headwinds.
Through the fourth quarter, we achieved about $50 million of the projected $100 million to $110 million in anticipated savings from our restructuring initiatives.
We continue to assess some projects based on changing market conditions.
After paying off our short-term debt and pre-funding our longer-term maturities in the second quarter, our net debt leverage is at historical low.
Our strong financial position gives us flexibility to pursue additional opportunities, including internal investments, acquisitions and stock purchases.
Since the third quarter, we've acquired approximately 1 million shares of our stock for $130 million as part of our share repurchase plan.
As the pandemic began, our organization has been protecting one another and supporting our customers around the world.
We are mitigating the spread of COVID utilizing best practices while testing and tracking employees with potential contacts.
I would like to add that I am both honored and excited about the opportunity to lead Mohawk's very talented global finance team.
Now let's review our financial performance for Q4 2020.
Sales exceeded $2.6 billion for the quarter, a 9% increase as reported or 5.5% on a constant basis, with our Flooring Rest of World segment outperforming.
Q4 had two additional shipping days in most businesses.
And as you consider 2021's financial projections, please remember to take into account the following items.
Across most of our businesses, Q1 has three additional days or approximately 5% more, and Q4 has four fewer days or approximately 6% less compared to prior year.
This year sales should continue higher growth and full-year operating margin should improve.
Our Q2 comps were very low and the second half comps are more difficult with the rebound that occurred last year.
Also last year, in Q3 and Q4, there was less time off for holidays for our customers and us.
Time off should be greater this year.
Now coming back to the P&L.
Gross margin was 27.9% as reported or 28.8% excluding charges, increasing 120 basis points from 27.6% in the prior year.
The year-over-year increase was driven primarily by higher volume of $51 million, productivity of $50 million, and lower inflation of $21 million, partially offset by price/mix of $30 million.
SG&A as reported was 17.2% or 17.3% versus 19.1% in the prior year, both excluding charges.
The lower SG&A percent was driven by improved leverage on increased volume and stronger productivity of $21 million.
Operating income as reported was 10.7%.
Restructuring charges for the quarter were $22 million and our restructuring initiatives are on track with year-to-date savings accounting for approximately $50 million of our announced $100 million to $110 million plan.
Operating margin, excluding charges, $305 million or 11.6%, improving from 8.4% last year or 320 basis points.
This increase was driven by productivity of $71 million, stronger volume of $42 million, and reduced inflation of $12 million, partially offset by the previously noted unfavorable price/mix of $30 million.
Interest expense of $16 million, including the impact of our new 2020 bond offerings, and we expect Q1 to be approximately $16 million to $16.5 million.
Other income of $7 million driven by favorable transactional FX and short-term investment returns.
Our Q4 non-tax -- non-GAAP tax rate at 14.8% versus 18.9% in the prior year, benefiting in part from the U.S. CARES Act.
We expect Q1 2021 to be approximately 21%.
Earnings per share as reported of $3.49 or excluding charges of $3.54, growing 57% year-over-year.
Now turning to the segments.
Global Ceramic had sales of $920 million, a 7% increase as reported with the business up 6% on a constant basis, with growth across all geographies, the largest increase being in Brazil and Russia.
Operating income, excluding charges, of $88 million, a 9.5% return.
That's up 65% or 330 basis points versus prior year.
The increase was from productivity of $28 million, volume of $16 million, and lower shutdown expense of $4 million, partially offset by unfavorable price/mix of $12 million and unfavorable FX of $4 million.
Flooring North American sales of $963 million or 3% increase as reported were flat on a constant basis, led by strength in our residential-focused products, offset by the weakness in the commercial channel.
Operating income, excluding charges, of $91 million or 9.5%.
That's an increase of 27% or 180 basis points compared to prior year.
This increase was driven by higher productivity of $26 million, lower inflation of $7 million, and increased volume of $3 million, partially offset by price/mix of $18 million.
And Flooring Rest of the World with sales of $759 million, a 20% increase as reported or 13% on a constant basis, driven by our resilient, laminate and panels businesses in Europe and our carpet business in Australia and New Zealand.
Operating income, excluding charges, of $138 million or 18.2%, up 420 basis points or 57% versus prior year.
The main drivers were the higher volume of $23 million, improved productivity of $16 million, and lower inflation of $8 million, partially offset by unfavorable FX of approximately $4 million.
Corporate and eliminations came in at $12 million and you would expect 2021 to be approximately $40 million.
Turning to the balance sheet.
Cash and short-term investments increased over $1.3 billion, driven by the Q4 free cash flow of $248 million, bringing the full-year 2020 -- full-year cash flow -- free cash flow to approximately $1.3 billion.
Receivables were just over $1.7 billion with DSO improving to 59 days versus the prior year 62 days.
Inventories just over $1.9 billion, dropped almost $400 million or 16% from prior year with a marginal sequential increase of approximately $30 million adjusting for FX from Q3.
Inventory days are at 103 days versus 134 days in the prior year.
Property, plant and equipment just under $4.6 billion with capex of $116 million for the quarter, in line with our D&A.
And full-year capex was $426 million with D&A of just over $600 million.
We estimate that 2021 annual capex to be in line with our D&A of approximately $590 million.
And lastly, the balance sheet and cash flow remained very strong with gross debt of just over $2.7 billion, total cash and short-term investments, as previously noted, over $1.3 billion, leading us to a leverage of 1 time adjusted EBITDA.
Sales for our Flooring Rest of World segment increased 20% in the period as reported or 13% on a constant basis, significantly exceeding our forecast.
Margins expanded over last year to 17.5% as reported or 18.2% excluding restructuring charges, due to higher volume and positive leverage on SG&A and operations, partially offset by currency headwinds.
Sales and margins were strong in most categories and geographies, with most of our plants operating near capacity in the fourth quarter.
Raw material costs began to rise in many of our product categories and we were taking pricing actions to respond to the increases.
Laminate, the segment's largest flooring category, delivered significant growth in the period across most of our markets.
Our margins increased as higher volumes drove greater absorption of manufacturing and SG&A costs while increased productivity and better throughput enhanced our results.
We continue to focus on our premium collections that feature superior visuals and waterproof technology.
Our service levels showed improvement during the period though they remain below our standards.
To satisfy higher demand for existing products, we chose to postpone introductions of our next-generation laminate collections in most markets.
Our LVT sales increased substantially in the quarter, led by accelerated growth of our rigid collections.
Both our LVT margins and profitability improved, due to increased volume, lower production costs and SG&A absorption.
We have increased staffing to operate all LVT line seven days per week.
We are introducing new collections with enhanced visuals and exclusive water-tight joints that better prevent water damage.
We are implementing price increases in our LVT collections to compensate for rising material costs.
Our sheet vinyl business rebounded as our retailers reopened their shops and our export markets picked up.
Our plants ran at high production levels that reduced our operating cost, though unfavorable currency partially offset.
All of our European sheet vinyl plants were running near capacity and we've announced price increases.
Our greenfield Russian sheet vinyl plant's volume has grown to a level that its margins are in line with our other businesses.
We have completed the consolidation of our wood operations in Malaysia.
During the period, our production was impacted by equipment installation and transportation challenges due to COVID.
The equipment from our closed European plant has now been installed and we are improving our throughput and wood sourcing strategies.
Our wood panels performed well in the period, with sales limited by our capacity and low inventories.
Our productivity improved in the quarter, increasing our volume and throughput.
Demand for our customized mezzanine floors is growing, as greater e-commerce sales have increased the need for warehouse space.
To cover rising material costs for our wood panels, we're also implementing price increases.
Product mix continues to improve due to a higher share of stylized products, due to sales investments to increase project specifications.
We are expanding our capacity in melamine products to further improve our margins.
In insulation, volume was good, though our margins were impacted by significant material inflation due to supply constraints.
We have implemented a price increase and have announced another to keep pace with the rising costs.
Demand for the category remained strong, enhanced by government incentives for energy savings.
Sales in Australia and New Zealand were strong in the fourth quarter and margins improved with higher volume and lower material costs from our longer supply chain.
We enhanced our market position with more aggressive sales initiatives and by providing more consistent service under difficult circumstances.
We have leveraged our relationship with carpet retailers to expand sales of our hard surface products.
Our results are benefiting from upgrades to our carpet and hard surface offering, manufacturing assets, and distribution capabilities that we've implemented since we acquired Godfrey Hirst.
For the quarter, our Global Ceramic segment sales rose 7% as reported with improved results across the world, led by growth in the residential channel from heightened remodeling and home sales.
Operating margins for the segment expanded to 8.7% as reported or 9.5% excluding restructuring costs, due to higher volume and improved productivity somewhat reduced by commercial product mix and currency.
Our Brazilian and Mexican businesses delivered record quarterly sales and expanded margins, even with inflationary headwinds.
Manufacturing constraints and low inventories limited growth in most of our regions.
Material, energy and transportation costs are rising, and we are increasing prices in most markets to offset these pressures.
Our U.S. ceramic business delivered strong residential sales growth while commercial remained challenged as businesses defer investments.
Our service centers are experiencing improved customer traffic due to higher home sales and remodeling activity.
The home center channel outperformed with increased demand and inventory replenishments.
To provide additional features and benefits, we are expanding our higher value collections with high gloss polished tiles, antimicrobial treatments, and matching floor and wall combinations.
We have announced price increases across most of our collections to pass through higher transportation costs.
Our ceramic plant productivity and cost improved during the period, due to higher volumes and continued process improvements.
Our restructuring initiatives are progressing and we should complete our ceramic plant consolidations by the end of the first quarter.
Our countertop business is increasing substantially with sales of our quartz products growing significantly.
Our quartz countertop production, cost and margins continue to improve our results and we are increasing our mix with higher value stylized products.
Our Mexican ceramic business delivered its best quarterly sales and performance, even with capacity constraints.
Our margins improved with higher productivity, partially reduced by inflation and product mix.
Our inventories declined and our backlog remained high as we ended the period.
Our customers have opened 30 exclusive Dal-Tile stores in the country, which will enhance our sales and strengthen our brand.
To cover rising inflation, we have announced price increases.
Brazil also delivered record sales in the period with all channels performing well.
Our margins improved due to increased volume and productivity, partially offset by inflation and product mix.
Our Brazilian plants are operating at capacity and have been allocating production to customers.
Our backlog remains high and we are increasing price to recover inflation.
We are investing to further upgrade our manufacturing assets this year.
For the quarter, our European ceramic sales and profitability were above last year.
Some Southern European economies were more affected by COVID and have remained softer than other regions.
Our residential sales were stronger, with more competitive pricing and lower commercial sales negatively impacting our product mix and margins.
We are launching differentiated collections to improve our mix with small sizes, large porcelain slabs, outdoor products, and enhanced design technology.
In the period, our service levels improved with the plants operating at higher rates, though inventories remained low due to higher demand.
Our Russian ceramic business delivered strong results during the period, even with inflation and currency headwinds.
Sales rose significantly in all channels, led by new residential construction, which benefited from historically low interest rates.
To meet higher demand, we ran more production by limiting holiday shutdowns.
We are successfully ramping up our new premium sanitaryware manufacturing and will expand it further this year.
The sanitaryware complements our ceramic tile collections and will enhance our product offering in our owned and franchised stores.
For the period, our Flooring North America sales increased 3% as reported, and our adjusted margins expanded 8.6% as reported or 9.5% excluding restructuring costs.
We had strong growth in the residential channel, offset by lower commercial, which improved from its low base in prior periods.
Our service levels improved as we increased production in the period, though high demand required allocating some products.
Due to higher demand and COVID disruptions in our plants, our inventories did not grow as we anticipated.
To improve our margin and mix, we're launching many innovative products that address the needs of families spending more time at home.
We are taking pricing action in most products due to rising material, labor and transportation costs.
We have executed a large part of our restructuring initiatives, which is benefiting our results, with some of the savings flowing through inventory in future periods.
Some of our operations were inhibited by increased absenteeism and labor shortages due to COVID, and we anticipate higher production levels will improve our service and our inventory positions.
Our residential carpet sales grew during the period as comfort and noise reduction have become more important to consumers.
The demand for residential carpet is strong, and our sales momentum should be solid.
We have taken many actions to improve our productivity, including rationalizing our product offering and reducing our operational complexities.
Our restructuring actions have lowered our overhead and improved our cost and yields.
Our new carpet collections will provide improved margins while offering superior styling, features and value.
We are introducing SmartStrand collections with a new patented hypoallergenic packing, making installation faster and recycling easier.
We're adding new pattern technologies and expanding our unique Continuum polyester collections made from recycled bottles.
We've announced price increases due to increasing inflation in materials, labor and transportation.
Our commercial business has improved from its bottom, but remains depressed along with their retail, hospitality, office and aviation sectors.
Our commercial hard surface sales are outperforming carpet, and we have improved our online tools to make it easier for designers to select and customize our products.
We are managing our cost structures, which have been deleveraged by lower volume, and we have announced price increases across our product offering.
Our laminate business is growing substantially in all channels as our unique visuals and waterproof technology have become desirable alternatives to both natural wood and LVT.
Our plants are running at capacity to meet the exceptional demand, and we're supplementing domestic production with laminate sourced from our worldwide operations.
We have executed numerous process enhancements to increase our laminate and board production, and by the end of the year, a new line should be operational with additional capabilities.
We announced a price increase on our laminate collections because of rising cost.
We have repurposed a plant in Virginia to manufacturer a premium wood flooring collection that has been in development for four years.
Applying our exclusive technologies, we created a truly waterproof wood flooring with dramatically improved scratch, dent and wear resistance for today's active households.
We've also updated our other wood collections to align with evolving market trends.
Sales of both our LVT and sheet vinyl improved substantially during the period, supported by strength in new housing starts and residential remodeling.
We have multiple engineers from our European business working in our U.S. operations to implement demonstrated improvements to increase output, reduce material cost, and enhance product visuals and performance.
We're introducing updated residential and commercial products with our new water-tight technology that will improve our mix and margins.
As in other categories, we've announced price increases due to rising material and transportation costs.
Our fourth quarter sales and operating performance were much stronger than we had anticipated.
We ran our plants around the world at high levels during the period, but fell short of the inventory build we anticipated.
Our operations are taking actions to optimize throughput and reach our desired service levels.
Given present trends, the momentum of our residential business should remain strong, while commercial should slowly improve from its trough.
We will benefit from structural improvements in our costs and innovative new products that will enhance our mix.
Most of our COVID -- most of the COVID restrictions around the world have not directly impacted the sales or installation of our products.
Continued government subsidies and low interest rates should support economic recoveries, new home construction and residential remodeling.
We see increasing inflation in most of our product categories and are raising prices in response.
Assuming current conditions continue, we anticipate our first quarter adjusted earnings per share to be between $2.69 and $2.79, excluding restructuring charges.
The strength of our organization was demonstrated by our management of last year's historic decline in sales and the subsequent spike in demand while protecting our employees and customers.
Our strategies and initiatives remain flexible to adapt to changing economic conditions.
With improving sales and cash flows and a strong balance sheet, we are well positioned to take advantage of future opportunities.

user
q4 earnings per share $3.54 excluding items.
q4 sales $2.6 billion versus refinitiv ibes estimate of $2.49 billion.
sees q1 adjusted earnings per share $2.69 to $2.79 excluding items.
q4 earnings per share $3.49.

assistant