F1 has revealed that its profits "accelerated past" the $500M mark on revenue of $1.7B last year "driven by new sponsorship deals with luxury watchmaker Rolex and the Emirates airline," according to Christian Sylt for the London TELEGRAPH. The results, including profit of $530.7M, were disclosed in the "accounts of F1's key operating companies" for the year-ending Dec. 31. For the "first time they show how much revenue and profit come from F1’s lucrative corporate hospitality and trackside advertising divisions." The two were founded in '83 by F1 CEO Bernie Ecclestone, and "Paddy McNally, a former boyfriend of the Duchess of York." As both operations were "based offshore, they didn’t need to file public accounts, so their finances remained a mystery until now." Last year CVC, the private equity firm which controls F1, "streamlined its structure" and incorporated two new U.K. companies -- Formula One Marketing and Formula One Hospitality and Event Services, to "sell corporate hospitality tickets, trackside advertising and sponsorship of the race series." Their accounts show that corporate hospitality revenues rose by $700,000 to $87.8M last year. Advertising and sponsorship were given a "bigger boost thanks to Rolex and Emirates becoming official partners of F1" in early 13. The deals fuelled a $53.4M increase in advertising and sponsorship revenue to $259M. The net profit from this and corporate hospitality came to a combined $239.6M with a further $5.1M coming from F1's two junior series, GP2 and GP3. The remainder of F1’s revenue "comes from race-hosting fees and broadcasters and flows into Luxembourg-based business Delta 2." Its '13 accounts were released in April and showed "underlying profits" of $286M on revenue of $1.3B. It brings F1's total turnover to $1.7B (TELEGRAPH, 10/5).
