UPDATE 3-Russian steel maker MMK swings to Q1 net loss

* MMK MAGN Q1 net loss of $110 mln

* Core earnings $99 million vs Q4 loss $469 million

* No financial guidance for remainder of 2009

* Says Q2 "will not be worse" than Q1

* Boosts sales to China, India, sees '09 capacity 65-70 pct (Adds details, analyst comment, share price)

By Alfred Kueppers

MOSCOW, June 11 (Reuters) - Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works (MMK) became Russia's third steel major to post a first-quarter net loss, reporting a worse-than-expected $110 million deficit on Thursday as forex and other matters hit the bottom line.

"The loss was bigger than expected because of some operating losses at the subsidiary level," Troika Dialog analyst Sergei Donskoi said.

Analysts polled by Reuters had expected MMK to post a first-quarter net loss of $73.9 million.

During a conference call company executives revealed that low sales prices at its steel trading subsidiaries had dampened profits.

Andrey Yermin, the head of the company's economics department also said the second-quarter results "will not be worse" than in the first quarter.

He added that the company plans to operate at about 65-70 percent capacity for the rest of 2009 and that June output will be about 700,000 tonnes.

Steel makers in Russia, the world's fourth-largest steel producing nation, are suffering from sharply lower global steel prices and weak domestic demand from the construction industry, auto manufacturers and other durable goods producers.

Earlier this month Novolipetsk Steel (NLMK.MM), announced a first-quarter net loss of $193.8 million, while in May Severstal (CHMF.MM), Russia's largest producer, reported a $644 million loss.

Despite the weak domestic market, MMK increased output 26 percent from the fourth quarter and shipped more steel abroad.

The company, controlled by billionaire Viktor Rashnikov, produced 2.1 million tonnes of crude steel and sold 6 percent of its output in China and another 4 percent in India, up from 0 percent and 2 percent, respectively, in the fourth quarter.