UPDATE 1-Aaon Q3 profit tops estimates

* Q3 EPS $0.45 vs est $0.38 * Sales down 26 pct

* Sees downturn continuing to impact business

Nov 2 (Reuters) - Air-conditioning and heating equipment maker Aaon Inc (AAON.O) posted a better-than-expected quarterly profit, helped mainly by lower operating expenses, but expects its business to continue to be hit by the downturn for the foreseeable future.

For the third quarter, net income was $7.7 million or 45 cents a share, compared with $8.4 million or 47 cents a share a year ago.

Sales at the company, which serves the construction market, fell 26 percent to $58.5 million.

Analysts on average were expecting earnings of 38 cents a share, before special items, on revenue of $68.9 million according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Although the economy is showing signs of recovery, commercial construction still lags the general trend, partly hurt by the retail slowdown.[ID:nBNG460384]

The third-quarter income reflected a reduction in cost of sales resulting from hedging of copper, lower material costs and reduced manufacturing related expenses, Chief Executive Norman Asbjornson said in a statement. Shares of the company closed at $18.01 Friday on Nasdaq. (Reporting by Divya Sharma in Bangalore; Editing by Aradhana Aravindan)