UPDATE 1-Sweden's steel maker SSAB's Q1 profit falls less than expected

(Adds more detail on results and expectations) April 26 (Reuters) - Swedish steelmaker SSAB reported a smaller-than-expected fall in first-quarter earnings on Wednesday and said it expected shipments in the second quarter to be "somewhat higher". SSAB, which operates steel businesses on both sides of the Atlantic, said demand in Europe improved during the quarter, and the company increased production and deliveries, compensating for lower realised prices.

The group's operating profit for the January-March period came in at 4.73 billion Swedish crowns ($459.46 million), beating the 3.49 billion crowns forecast by analysts, according to data from Refinitiv.

Although demand in China continues to be at a relatively low level, overall SSAB said it expects stable demand during the second quarter.

It forecast that second-quarter shipments by its Special Steels and European divisions would be "somewhat higher" than the previous quarter, while shipments at the Americas division were seen to be stable.

It expects raw material costs to be in line with, or "somewhat lower", than the previous quarter, adding, however, that interest rates and rampant inflation remain worries in the second half of the year, especially in Europe.

($1 = 10.2948 Swedish crowns) (Reporting by Marta Frackowiak in Gdansk; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman and Sharon Singleton)

Reuters

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off-the-wire

UPDATE 1-Sweden&apos;s steel maker SSAB&apos;s Q1 profit falls less than expected

By Reuters

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UPDATE 1-Sweden's steel maker SSAB's Q1 profit falls less than expected