Russian steelmaker MMK posts $2.2 bln Q4 net loss due to one-offs

(Adds figure for impairment charges, detail, share reaction)

MOSCOW, April 22 (Reuters) - Russian steel major MMK said its fourth-quarter net loss widened to $2.2 billion due to impairment charges and forecast higher steel sales in the first quarter of 2014.

A Reuters poll of analysts had expected a net loss of $40 million excluding the one-off charges, which MMK said on Tuesday totalled $2.5 billion for 2013.

It said the impairments were mostly related to the outlook for the metallurgical industry, which has suffered from sagging demand and overproduction.

MMK, controlled by billionaire Viktor Rashnikov, said its net debt fell by $492 million to $3 billion by the end of 2013.

The company said it expects an increase in volumes of output and sales of commercial steel products in the first three months of this year due to an improvement in its markets.

Its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) came in at $312 million for the fourth quarter versus a Reuters forecast of $263 million.

Shares in MMK, which fell around 30 percent last year, were trading up 1.7 percent at 0645 GMT, outperforming a 0.4 percent decline of the broader Moscow stock market.

The company made a net loss of $141 million in the fourth quarter of 2012. (Reporting by Alessandra Prentice; Editing by Erica Billingham)