Williams reports profit boost at start of 2017

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The Williams Formula 1 team has reported an increase in business profits for the first half of 2017.

Interim financial results show Williams made a pre-tax profit of £10.1m on revenues of £65.5m during the first six months on the Formula 1 side of its operations.

The latest figures compare to revenues of £51.3m and profits of £4.1m over the same period the year before.

Fifth place in the 2016 constructors' championship cut the amount the team received from its share of Formula 1 prize money. However, that's been partly made up by new sponsorship deals.

In addition there's been funding from billionaire Lawrence Stroll as part of the deal putting his son Lance in the FW40 this season.

The other part of the group, Williams Advanced Engineering, generated revenues of £19.9m compared to £20.6m the previous year. That meant a slightly lower year-on-year pre-tax profit of £3.4m. The figures don't include costs for the Williams Heritage and Williams Conference Centre subsidiaries.

“These results demonstrate our financial stability as a group," said Mike O'Driscoll, CEO of Williams Grand Prix Holdings PLC.

"[They] represent a solid platform from which we can continue to develop our Formula One and advanced engineering operations," he continued.

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“The Formula One business generated both increased revenues and profit versus the first half of 2016," he added. "Largely driven by non-recurring one-off items, and the revenues associated with project work within that period.

“We continue to face the cost pressures associated with our determination to enhance our Formula 1 performance and in growing Williams Advanced Engineering.

"Wider economic pressures and the evolving Formula One landscape will continue to impact our near-term results," he noted. "However, we remain confident in our ability to meet these demands."

Williams was established as a Formula 1 race team 40 years ago in 1977. It has been marking the anniversary with a serious of fan events during the season.

"We are delighted to be celebrating our 40th year in Formula One during 2017" commented O'Driscoll.

"We are confident that with recent additions to the team, coupled with investment in facilities we will accelerate our progress in the years ahead."

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.