Tarom cuts losses by 30 pct in first 9 months

Romanian state-owned airline Tarom has reported revenues worth RON 972 million (approximately (EUR 218 million), up by one percentage point y-o-y while losses reached RON 83 million (approximately EUR 18.6 million) down by about 30 percent y-o-y, according to company data.

The loss reported for the first 9 months was 13 percent below the target set in the company’s management plan. During the same period Tarom operated 12,532 flights, down by 188 flights compared with the same period last year but reported a 2.6 percent increase in the number of passengers.

Last week Tarom announced that Dante Stein is the new president of the board of administration. He is honorary counselor to PM Victor Ponta. Manuel Donescu, state secretary with the Ministry of Transport, will act as VP.

Stein’s appointment comes after at the beginning of November the airline’s general shareholders’ assembly elected a new administration board following the former board’s conflict with the company’s CEO, Christian Edouard Heinzmann.

The members of the airline’s administration board which were dismissed are: Dan Pascariu (president), Valentin Macec (VP), Ciprian Ladunca (member), Marius Ghenea (member) and Dumitru Prunariu (member).

The new members of Tarom administration board are: Stein, Donescu, Florin Luca (banking counselor), Bogdan Speteanu (general director BCR Leasing and Razvan Filipescu (president of the National Tourism Authority)

Tarom is the first state-owned company in Romania for which private sector management was appointed.

According to Tarom’s management plan, the target is to reach losses of RON 143 million this year and RON 18 million in 2014 and afterwards to report a profit of RON 92 million in 2016 and RON 173 million the following year.

The airline should also increase the number of passangers by 100,000 each year, from 2.3 million this year to 2.6 million in 2016. Another target is to increase the aircrafts’ load factor from 68 percent this year to 75 percent in 2016.