Kenny Morgan, left, and Junior Clavidy install ceramic liners into an asphalt storage silo at Astec Inc. in this file photo.

Astec Industries, the Chattanooga-based manufacturer of road-building equipment, released its 2010 fourth quarter and year-end results today.

Net sales in the fourth quarter increased 7.3 percent to $190.8 million, compared to $177.9 million in the year-ago period.

Net income attributable to controlling interest for the fourth quarter was $6 million (26 cents per diluted share), compared to a net loss attributable to controlling interest of $15.5 million (69 cents per share) in the 2009 fourth quarter.

"We are very pleased with the 2010 sales level," said Dr. J. Don Brock, Astec's chairman and chief executive, in a news release. "The recession that started in September 2008 was deep and fast. Our management right sized their business under extremely difficult conditions. For significant domestic growth, we need a responsible six-year highway bill which should give customers the vision to make larger capital investments."

Read tomorrow's Chattanooga Times Free Press for complete coverage.