The improvement in results is due to Easter being earlier this year than last year, according to CEO Ann Carlsson Meyer.
"Adjusted for this calendar effect, an underlying volume decline remains, which we are now addressing through efficiency measures throughout the organization," she writes in a comment in the report.
Net sales rose to SEK 8.0 billion, up from SEK 7.9 billion.
But Systembolaget's return on equity of 2.2 percent, down from 11.1 percent, is below the company's target level of 5–15 percent.
