Lawson Products, Inc. (NASDAQ: LAWS), Des Plaines, IL, a distributor of services, systems and products to the MRO and OEM marketplaces, reported sales for the third quarter were $95.1 million, down 24.1% from third quarter 2008. Profit fell 51.2% to $1.5 million.

For the first nine months, sales were $289.5 million, a decline of 23.5% from the prior year term. Lawson Products recorded a loss of $2.6 million during the period, compared to a loss of $22.2 million a year ago.

“Overall, we have seen our sales stabilize, with our MRO segment performing slightly better than our OEM segment. In addition, our gross margins have improved sequentially in the second and third quarters,” said Thomas Neri, president and CEO.

“By implementing a number of cost reduction initiatives earlier this year, primarily in the MRO segment, we have succeeded in establishing a much lower fixed cost structure to support our future operations.”