Value Microcaps Food, Agriculture and Soft Commodities

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MERC down to $5.35 afterhours (still had a net loss for Q1).

Q1 loss/shr 21 euro cents vs loss/shr 1.08 euros last yr

* Revenue up 29 pct to 180.2 mln euros

May 3 (Reuters) - Canada's Mercer International Inc (MRIu.TO) (MERC.O) posted a narrower first-quarter loss, helped by strengthening pulp markets.

"Continued strong demand from Asia and growing demand in Europe and North America for bleached softwood kraft pulp helped support upward pricing momentum," Jimmy Lee, Mercer's chairman, said in a statement.

For the quarter ended Mar. 31, the company posted a net loss of 7.5 million euros ($9.90 million), or 21 euro cents a share, compared with a net loss of 39.4 million euros, or 1.08 euros apiece a year ago.

Revenue rose 29 percent to 180.2 million euros. Pulp revenue rose 33 percent to 171.1 million euros.

Shares of the company closed at $5.79 Monday on Nasdaq and at C$5.50 on the Toronto Stock Exchange. ($1=.7574 Euro) (Reporting by Abhiram Nandakumar in Bangalore; Editing by Don Sebastian)