STOCKHOLM--Swedish steel maker SSAB AB (SSAB-A.SK) said Friday it sees continued improvement in the North American and European markets this year, after its first quarter net loss narrowed.

SSAB's net loss in the quarter decreased to 49 million Swedish kronor ($7.5 million) from a loss of SEK137 million in the year-earlier period with the result weighed by production and delivery disruptions due to extreme weather conditions in North America as well as uncertainty and lower sales to Russia and Turkey.

Analysts polled by Reuters had predicted a net loss of SEK94.5 million.

"We expect the American market to continue to develop positively in 2014, driven primarily by good demand from energy-related customer segments and the automotive industry," said Chief Executive Martin Lindqvist in a statement. In the European market steel consumption is expected to increase slightly, driven by general macroeconomic trends.

The Asian markets remain challenging, due to excess capacity and high inventory levels. "However, we see some signs of a recovery from the mining sector in China and Australia," said Lindqvist.

The company's operating profit in the first quarter increased to SEK26 million compared with a loss of SEK136 million for the year-earlier period. The first time the company has posted a profit on the operating line since the second quarter of 2012.

The improvement was primarily due to higher volumes in EMEA and higher prices in the U.S. During the first quarter SSAB had announced price rises in the U.S. of 15% for plate steel.

SSAB reported sales of SEK9.17 billion, slightly beating analysts' expectations of SEK9.04 billion. In the same period last year revenue was SEK8.83 billion.

Shares closed Thursday at SEK51.10.

Write to Clemens Bomsdorf at clemens.bomsdorf@dowjones.com

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