Armstrong takes a hit just before flooring spinoff takes effect

The story for Armstrong's (newly separated) businesses will look different in the second quarter.

But for the first quarter ended March 31 -- the day before Armstrong World Industries completed the separation of its flooring business -- the results speak to the company's last days as a combined entity, which bore the brunt of impending separation costs and administrative expenses.

They were less than encouraging -- operating income, net income and earnings per share all came in unfavorably, and sales grew a modest 3.7% to $571.8 million.

Operating income from continuing operations of $18.3 million was down 48.9% year-over-year, a change that was largely driven by separation costs.

Meanwhile, net loss of $11.6 million stood in comparison to net income of $3.8 million, and diluted earnings per share came in at a loss of $0.21, down from $0.07 in 2015.

Adjusted EBITDA from continuing operations was up 13%, however, to $81 million.

"With the completion of the spin-off of Armstrong Flooring Inc., we begin a new chapter in our history focused on driving shareholder value by leveraging our industry leading portfolio of innovative ceiling, wall and suspension solutions to drive growth," said Vic Grizzle, CEO. "We are laser focused on the opportunities enabled by our strong innovation pipeline and our deep customer relationships. We will grow by selling into more spaces and selling a complete suite of Armstrong products in every space, and as the industry leader we are uniquely positioned to capture these opportunities."