STOCKHOLM, April 24 (Reuters) - Swedish bank Handelsbanken reported first-quarter net profit below market expectations on Wednesday and said it had decided on a strategic refocus of its Norwegian operations.

The rival of Swedbank, SEB and Nordea said net profit fell to 6.60 billion crowns ($611 million) from a year-ago 6.81 billion, against a mean analyst forecast of 6.69 billion according to LSEG estimates.

"As a consequence of the ongoing weak development of our Norwegian operations, we have after a review decided on a strategic refocus," the bank said in a statement.

Swedish banks have seen their income boosted by higher interest rates but have also been hit by a real estate slump and lower consumer spending.

(Reporting by Johan Ahlander, editing by Anna Ringstrom)