Although the business represented approximately 2% of our total sales, it was not central to our core strength in professional, industrial and commercial floor cleaning.
And in 2020, managed a 35% reduction in our core Tennant legacy product portfolio along with a 20% reduction in product options.
Through an engineering redesign effort across our large scrubbers and sweepers, we introduced new tires that reduced our cost, improved traction and performance for our customers and reduced our tire SKUs by over 50%.
For the fourth quarter of 2020, Tennant reported net sales of $273 million, down 7.4% year-over-year as a result of the pandemic-related slowdown, while our organic sales, which exclude the impact of currency effects, declined 8.9%.
Sales in the Americas declined by 11.6% year-over-year and were down 10.5% organically.
Sales in the EMEA region increased by 3.7% year-over-year due to currency effects, but were down 3.4% organically, primarily due to pandemic-related restrictions in the U.K., the Netherlands and the Iberian Peninsula.
Sales in the Asia Pacific region declined by 10.4% year-over-year and were down 13.9% organically.
Adjusted gross margin in the fourth quarter of 2020 was 41.3% compared with 40.5% in the year ago period, increasing due to the positive effect of pricing actions and cost out initiatives driven by our enterprise strategy, which more than offset regional mix and strategic investments we made during the quarter related to our employees.
During the fourth quarter, our adjusted S&A expenses were 33.9% of net sales compared with 30.4% in the year ago period.
As for the profitability, we reported net earnings of $2.5 million or $0.13 per share, down from $10.9 million or $0.59 per share in the prior year.
Adjusted EPS, which excludes non-operational items memorization expense totaled $0.48 compared with $0.86 in the prior year.
In terms of adjusted EBITDA, our results decreased to $25.4 million or 9.3% of sales compared with $34 million or 11% of sales in the year ago period, driven by our lower year-over-year revenue and the incremental investments in the quarter mentioned a moment ago.
As for our tax rate, in the fourth quarter, Tennant had an adjusted effective tax rate excluding the amortization expense adjustment of 32.3% compared to 23.3% in the year ago period.
In the fourth quarter, Tennant generated $36.3 million in cash flow from operations, primarily driven by business performance and improved working capital levels.
We also reduced outstanding debt by $15.2 million and paid $4.2 million in cash dividends to shareholders.
In 2020, net sales totaled $1 billion compared to $1.14 billion in 2019, reflecting a decline of 11.8% on an organic basis driven by market weakness due to the global pandemic.
As Chris mentioned, our ability to quickly respond to the pandemic and manage costs and ensure liquidity allowed us to deliver an adjusted EBITDA for full year 2020 of $119.4 million or 11.9% of sales compared with $136.9 million or 12% of sales in 2019.
These actions also allowed Tennant to generate cash flow from operations of $133.8 million, reduce outstanding debt by $31.1 million and pay $16.3 million in cash dividends to the shareholders.
Net sales of $1.05 billion to $1.08 billion with organic sales rising 5% to 8%.
GAAP earnings of $3.30 to $3.75 per share.
Adjusted earnings per share of $3.50 to $3.95 per share, which excludes certain non-operational items and the amortization expense.
Adjusted EBITDA in the range of $130 million to $140 million.
Capital expenditures of $20 million to $25 million.
And an effective tax rate of 20%.
Our guidance also incorporates the divestiture of our coatings business, which we estimate having $20 million to $25 million impact to sales.
I have been at Tennant for almost 18 years, including 15 years as President and CEO.
They are the lifeblood of this great organization and the reason it has thrive for 150 years and will continue to flourish for the next 150.

Summary:
For the fourth quarter of 2020, Tennant reported net sales of $273 million, down 7.4% year-over-year as a result of the pandemic-related slowdown, while our organic sales, which exclude the impact of currency effects, declined 8.9%.
As for the profitability, we reported net earnings of $2.5 million or $0.13 per share, down from $10.9 million or $0.59 per share in the prior year.
Adjusted earnings per share of $3.50 to $3.95 per share, which excludes certain non-operational items and the amortization expense.