State Railways Co Narrows Loss, Eyes Break-even
The state-run railways company BDZ has managed to cut its loss to some 25-26 million levs ($17.3-18 million/12.8-13.3 million euro) in 2012 from 40 million levs a year earlier, the management board chairman said.
BDZ's loss narrowed by some 43 million levs in the past three years, Vladimir Vladimirov said in an interview for public broadcaster Bulgarian National Television (BNT).
In 2011, the holding company launched massive cost-cutting measures, reducing the number of its employees by about 2,000. At the beginning of 2012, its workforce stood at some 13,000.
Vladimirov added that the company can reach break-even but that will take a lot of time and will depend on the privatization of BDZ's freight transport unit.
Four companies - Romania's Grup Feroviar Roman, Bulgaria's First Investment Bank, local company Bulgarian Cargo Express and Austria's Donau-Finanz Transport und Beteiligung - are taking part in the race for BDZ Tovarni Prevozi and have to submit binding bids by March 12.