April 24 (Reuters) - Masco beat Wall Street expectations for first-quarter profit on Wednesday, as price hikes and easing material costs bolstered the homebuilding-product maker's margins.

Its gross profit margin expanded 180 basis points to 35.6%, also helped by better cost management undertaken in the past quarters to shield its margins from rising costs of freight, shipping and commodity.

"We expanded adjusted operating profit margin by 90 basis points and grew adjusted earnings per share by 8% through improved operational efficiencies and our continued focus on execution," CEO Keith Allman said in the statement.

The Behr paint maker posted an adjusted profit of 93 cents per share for the quarter ended March. 31, compared with analysts' average estimate of 88 cents per share, according to LSEG data.

Quarterly net sales, however, decreased 3% to $1.93 billion, compared with analysts' average estimate of a 2% decline to $1.94 billion, due to weak demand for Masco's decorative architectural and plumbing businesses as budget-conscious consumers pulled back from spending on renovation projects.

Masco still maintained its annual profit forecast range of $4 to $4.25 per share. (Reporting by Anuja Bharat Mistry in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli)