WILMETTE, Ill. — In this month’s edition of the Business of Speed, we examine the financial and operational performance of the largest public companies in the motorsports sector.
International Speedway Corp. (ISCA)
For 2018, International Speedway Corp. posted revenue of $673.2 million, an increase of .5 percent from the previous year. The company continued its revenue growth for the fourth straight year.
Broadcasting revenue was the largest driver of the motorsports and event-related income category. Admissions, food and beverage remained under pressure as ticket sales remained under pressure as attendance was stagnant at many events..
ISCA’s operating income was $97.4 million, or 14.5 percent of revenue. This is a slight decrease from 2017, due to rises in NASCAR event (sanctioning fees) and motorsports event-related expenses. The company recognized a benefit from the tax act, which raised its net income.
Overall, management placed emphasis on its disciplined approach to financial management, long-term broadcast partnerships and commitment to consumer-focused sales and marketing initiatives that provide good value to fans.
Speedway Motorsports Inc. (TRK)
Speedway Motorsports showed a revenue increase of $3.5 million to $461.9 million in 2018. The addition of a second Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and the reconfiguration of the ROVAL at Charlotte Motor Speedway were positive contributors to the bottom line. NASCAR broadcasting revenue was 47 percent of total revenue and exceeded admission revenue by almost 2.7 times.
The impact of changing demographics, evolving media content consumption and the lingering effects of lower consumer and corporate spending will continue to challenge the company going forward.
Dover Motorsports (DVD)
For 2018, Dover Motorsports had $47 million in revenue and an operating income of $7.2 million. The slight increase was from higher broadcasting revenue, partially offset by lower admissions revenue. The company recognized a gain from the sale of land at Nashville Superspeedway, which closed in 2011.
The NASCAR broadcast contract is worth $32.9 million annually and the company’s annual purse and sanction fees are about $17.8 million.
Formula One (FWONK)
Liberty Media’s Formula One revenue was $1.83 billion, a 2 percent increase from the prior year. There were 21 races, one more than the previous year.
Formula One generates revenue in four different categories: race promotion fees — (33.8%); broadcasting fees — (33.1%); advertising and sponsorship fees — (14.6%); and other revenue (18.4%).
Formula One’s operating expenses were $1.27 billion or 70 percent of revenue.
Expenses included team payments of $913 million, which was an increase of $5 million compared to 2017.
Other expense increases were due to logistics and travel expenses, higher costs associated with providing the chassis and component parts to F2 and GP3 teams, digital media development and spending on fan engagement.
Executives noted that Formula One audience figures increased across television and digital platforms for the second year in a row. Social media followers and average attendance per race weekend also increased.
The announcement of the intentions of International Speedway Corp. and Speedway Motorsports to go private were unprecedented.
As a result, speculation began that NASCAR could acquire both entities. Times have definitely changed since the contention of antitrust violations over track and race date changes 15 years ago.
The industry continues to seek growth opportunities with sports betting, esports and additional fan engagement initiatives.