January 3 (SeeNews) - Romanian flag carrier Tarom narrowed its net loss to 171.4 million lei ($40.2 million/35.8 million euro) last year, from 182.7 million lei in 2018, it said on Friday, citing preliminary estimates.
Tarom's 2019 turnover is estimated at 1.51 billion lei, up from 1.4 billion lei in 2018, according to company data published in Romania's official gazette.
Expenses are estimated at 1.68 billion lei in 2019.
This is Tarom's 12th straight year of annual loss.
The transport ministry announced last month that Tarom has signed a contract to lease nine ATR aircraft in order to replace seven old planes. The airline will receive four of the nine new ATR 72-600s by February, with the rest will be delivered by the end of 2020.
Also in December, Romania's transport ministry said it will seek rescue aid from the European Commission and the national budget to save Tarom. The ministry will apply for 47 million euro ($52.3 million) in aid from Brussels plus a restructuring package of about 110 million euro from the state budget in order to rescue the company, transport minister Lucian Bode said at the time.
Tarom is operating on international and domestic routes with a fleet of 25 aircraft - seven ATR-42-500 , two ATR-72, 4 Boeing 737-700, 4 Boeing 737-300, 4 Boeing 737-800 NG, and 4 Airbus A318-111.
(1 euro =4.7793 lei)