Klarna profit, revenue ahead of forecast but outlook falls short

* Klarna Q1 profit, revenue beat ​estimates, driven ⁠by U.S. growth

* Q2 revenue and ​GMV forecasts fall short of analyst expectations

* Klarna CEO shifting focus to profitability ​after feedback

* Klarna ‌swings to $17 million Q1 profit from $90 million loss

STOCKHOLM, May ⁠14 (Reuters) - Klarna, the Swedish "buy now, pay later" services ⁠provider and online bank, posted ​first-quarter operating profit and revenue ahead of analysts' expectations on Thursday, helped by growth in U.S. markets.

But while its quarterly revenue ​rose ‌44% to $1 billion, beating estimates of $945 million, Klarna's current-quarter revenue forecast of $960 million to $1 billion was well below expectations of $1.67 billion in an LSEG poll of analysts.

Klarna said its quarterly ​operating income was $17 million compared with a loss of $90 million in ‌the year-earlier period, ahead of expectations of $9 million. Adjusted operating profit rose to $68 million, from $3 million ‌a year ago, it said.

The company focused on profit ahead of growth in the quarter after prioritizing growth over the ​bottom line in the fourth quarter, an approach which wiped a quarter ‌off its market value.

"It obviously became clear to us that it was important to all the shareholders that they were supportive ⁠about ⁠the growth, but they also wanted to ‌see the bottom line growing well," Klarna CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski told Reuters.

Klarna's gross ​merchandise volume (GMV), ​a metric for measuring sales, rose 33% to $33.7 ‌billion in the quarter.

In the second, Klarna expects GMV of between $35.5 billion and $36.5 billion, versus expectations of $38.1 billion. (Reporting by Supantha Mukherjee in Stockholm; Editing by Alexander Smith)

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