Hit by the current economic times and the fact the spending capacity of customers is at an all time low, Masco Corp, manufacturer of home improvement and building products, posted declining third quarter profits on Monday. According to the figures posted, company sales fell by a total of 17% in the three month up-to September end.

Headquartered in Taylor, Michigan, Masco made public, figures which reveal a loss of $28 Million, or a fall of $0.08 per share. This is much lower than figures posted last year for the same period which stood firm at $33 million or $0.09 per share.

Despite the disappointing figures, one thing which managed to send out an upbeat note was the fact the firm's gross margin showed a significant improvement. It rose to 27.2% from an earlier figure of 25.8%. This is the highest rate that the firm has achieved in the past seven quarters.