NASHVILLE (AP) - Louisiana-Pacific Corp. moved to a profit for its fourth quarter as the U.S. housing recovery picked up.

CEO Curt Stevens said Friday that the general sentiment among builders is upbeat based his assessment of a recent building industry meeting.

"Despite some potential challenges associated with credit availability, the federal deficit and job growth, they expressed a great deal of confidence that housing starts will continue to improve in 2013," Stevens said.

The building products company reported Friday that it earned $46.1 million, or 32 cents per share, for the quarter that ended in December. That's compared with a loss of $57.2 million, or 42 cents per share, in the same quarter last year.

It earned an adjusted 18 cents per share from continuing operations, Analysts surveyed by FactSet expected higher earnings of 21 cents per share.

Louisiana-Pacific's total revenue increased 47 percent to $459 millio n from $312.2 million a year ago on stronger demand and improved pricing. Analysts expected revenue of $444.9 million.

The company, based in Nashville, Tenn., did not issue an outlook.

Shares of Louisiana-Pacific fell 39 cents, or 1.9 percent, to $20.10 in afternoon trading on the earnings miss. But its stock has climbed steadily over the past 52 weeks, increasing its value by nearly 60 percent