April 17 (Reuters) - Digital mapping specialist TomTom said on Wednesday its operating result turned to a bigger than expected loss in the first quarter, weighed down by an increase in R&D expenses.

The Amsterdam-based company posted a loss before interest and taxes of 4.9 million euros ($5.2 million) for the first three months of 2024, versus a profit of 2.6 million euros last year.

Analysts were expecting a loss of 2 million euros on average, a company-compiled consensus showed. ($1 = 0.9414 euros) (Reporting by Mathias de Rozario and Gaëlle Sheehan in Gdansk; editing by Milla Nissi)