News: XRO UPDATE 1-NZ-based Xero reports smaller loss on growth in subscribers

(Adds forecast, company quote, and background)

May 10 (Reuters) - Accounting software firm Xero Ltd (XRO) reported a smaller annual loss on Thursday helped by a rise in customer numbers.

The company's net loss narrowed to NZ$27.8 million ($19.28 million), in the year ended March 31, from a loss of NZ$69.1 million, a year earlier.

Total revenue for the full-year rose about 38 percent to NZ$406.6 million.

The company added about 351,000 subscribers this year, taking its total subscribers to about 1.4 million as at March 31, 2018, and forecast a reduction in cash flow in 2019.

"Xero is managing the business to cash flow break-even within its current cash balance (without drawing on its debt facility) through operational efficiencies," the company said in a statement.

The results announcement was the first since new Chief Executive Steve Vamos took the helm, replacing founder Rod Drury who remains a non-executive director of the company.

The Wellington-based company delisted itself from the New Zealand stock exchange earlier this year in order to consolidate its Australian listing and support its drive into global markets.

The announcement of Xero's exit on Nov. 7 had come as a "shock" to some investors, with shares of NZX (NZX) slumping on the loss of one of its most high-profile listings.

($1 = 1.4418 New Zealand dollars)