STOCKHOLM (Reuters) -Sweden’s Electrolux, the world’s second-biggest appliances maker, reported on Friday a smaller third-quarter adjusted operating profit than expected but said losses at its North America business narrowed.

Operating profit excluding non-recurring items increased to 717 million crowns ($67.8 million) from a year-earlier 314 million, against a mean forecast in an LSEG poll of analysts of 855 million.

Including one-off costs, operating profit fell to 349 million crowns from 608 million.

“While market conditions remained challenging in Europe and North America, we continued to make progress on our cost initiatives,” CEO Jonas Samuelson, who is retiring from the job at the end of the year, said in a statement.

($1 = 10.5704 Swedish crowns)