Formula E posts US$29m loss despite revenue in Season 4

Electric racing series Formula E has posted a €26.4 million ($29 million) loss during Season 4 for the fiscal year ending July 31, 2018 even has the revenue has reached a record €133.4 million ($149 million) of revenue. There is a €44 million ($49 million) increase in revenue over the previous year.

The Season 4 deficit puts Formula E’s aggregate loss since its inception in 2014 at € 150 million ($168 million), verge.com has reported citing the Formula E Operations Limited new financial statement filed with the UK’s the Companies House registry.

Formula E had lost €20.8 million ($23.2 million) on €94.5 million ($105.7 million) worth of revenue in the previous year. It lost €35.2 million ($39 million) on revenues of €56.6 million ($63 million) the year before that. The losses are part and parcel of the Series’ establishment and growth plans.

The electric racing series, overseen by the Formula One governing body, is in the middle of its fifth season.

Formula E has also brought many of the world’s premiere automakers into the series, including Audi, BMW, Nissan. Mercedes-Benz and Porsche are up next on the cards. The teams are inducted at lower costs to strengthen the Series with the best brands in the business.

With the big names on board, the Formula E series has more than doubled its attendance to 476,000 in season four, and increased its television viewership from 223 million to 330 million, the filing states.

For Season 5, Formula E has unveiled its second-generation race car, which is faster, lasts longer to complete the race, and has a dramatic styling so unique that it looks unlike basically anything else run by the competition. The development will further boost the interest in the series.

Formula E Series has also launched a mobile game that allows fans to race drivers in real time

The accounts also state that the company’s solvency is dependent on support from its parent company, Formula E Holdings, adds Sportspromedia.

“The group successfully closed another round of funding, raising approximately €10.5m ($11.7 million) of equity. The consideration was partly used to repurchase back some of the base shares from the chief executive of the group [Alejandro Agag] for €5 million (US$5.5 million),” reads the statement.

The €40 million (US$44 million) plus rise in revenue marks the sport’s latest efforts to get in the black. Race promotions and licensing income in particular saw a swell of interest, with Swiss-Swedish corporation ABB becoming the sport’s title sponsor. This comes after Formula E signed sponsorship deals with Bosch and Heineken.

A large portion of future income looks set to come from Saudi Arabia after Formula E signed a ten-year deal with the Gulf state last May. Although the value of the deal was not officially disclosed, the Verge reported it was worth US$260 million spread across the ten years.

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