Blackbird plc (AIM: BIRD, OTCQX: BBRDF), the technology licensor, developer and seller of the multi award-winning cloud-native video editing platform, Blackbird , announces its audited full year results for the year ended 31 December 2022.
Ian McDonough, CEO of Blackbird, commented:
“I am delighted to report record revenues for the fifth consecutive year of £2.85 million, up 38% on the previous year.
“2022 has been a transformational year for the Company. Firstly, the Company delivered against the statement of work for EVS, its first technology licensee. EVS’ resulting product, IPD VIA Create, was subsequently used by a US broadcaster on a major global sporting event towards the end of the year. We have high hopes that this deal will be lucrative for the Company in the future as EVS rolls out IPD VIA Create to their customer base. Secondly, the Company has continued to serve high-profile customers, with both FIFA and NCSA, amongst others, onboarded during the year, enabling them to have trusted, fast, efficient content creation tools on their valuable content. Finally, on the back of the fundraise in December 2021, the Company has employed new talent, including Sumit Rai, Chief Product Officer, Mo Volans, SVP Product Marketing and Morgan Henry, VP Engineering. They have already made a great mark and have set out their exciting vision for the next phase of our strategic direction in the public cloud via our Blackbird SaaS platform.
“Our Blackbird SaaS platform will be built on our core technology and open up a wider addressable market and accelerate sales growth as we move beyond our existing media and entertainment base into the creator space. Development is progressing well and we look forward to sharing further details with shareholders as the year progresses ahead of a product launch towards the beginning of next year.
“We start 2023 in a strong position financially, with £10.1 million in cash and short-term investments at 31 December 2022, a healthy order book of £3.4 million and some exciting conversations around ‘Powered by Blackbird’. I am really excited about our future prospects and look forward to working with the Blackbird team to deliver further success.”
Operational highlights (post year end)
· Deal signed with Argentinian station Telefe, part of the Paramount Global group and introduced by the CBS sports team, for football highlights
· In conjunction with leading research consultancy, Caretta Research, launched a video industry study ‘Going native: production in the cloud’
o the report highlights increased cost and inefficiencies from lift-and-shift cloud workflows
· £1,618k* revenue secured for 2023, at end of February 2023, which is down 20% year on year (2022 comparative at end of February 2022: £2,025k) mainly due to no ‘Powered by Blackbird’ development fees being scheduled for 2023 (2022 comparative of £454k)
· Contracted but unrecognised revenue of £3,099k* at end of February 2023. Of this, £1,281k* is to be recognised in 2023, a further £1,065k* in 2024, with the remainder in 2025 and beyond
*Unaudited and subject to exchange rate fluctuations
Operational highlights (during the year)
· First technology licensing deal delivered and with the first end user customer being a major US broadcaster
o endorsing the value that Blackbird’s technology can bring to a third party’s infrastructure
· Key hires made and progress made on the Blackbird SaaS platform
o self service product being developed to widen addressable market and accelerate sales growth
· Successful deployment at the winter games in February 2022, allowing editors to work remotely from another continent
o validating that Blackbird can be trusted on the most valuable content
· Expansion within the Univision and ‘global financial news service’ accounts
o reaffirming our ‘land and expand’ approach
· Successful FIFA deployment
o now extensively used on their FIFA+ OTT service
o expansion into live workflows
· Multi-year deal signed with Next College Student Athlete (NCSA), who are a part of the IMG group
· Deal signed with SBS Belgium to produce media assets for its OTT platform
· LiveU/Blackbird solution used in coverage of a further two German elections
· One of a few partners chosen to be on Microsoft’s stand at the NAB and IBC industry shows
· Achieved AWS Technology Partner status and completed Foundational Technical Review
o stepping stone to launching the Blackbird SaaS platform in a public cloud which will open up the Company’s addressable market
· Strategic white papers released by the Company on
o Blackbird architecture: highlighting the ‘magic’ behind Blackbird’s cloud native solution and the associated unique benefits
o sustainability: endorsed by Hannah Mills and leading a call for action to the industry to reduce carbon at source in video production
· Multiple award wins, including the ‘Queen’s Award for Enterprise: International Trade’ and IABM’s 2022 ‘Broadcast / Media Company of the Year’
Financial highlights
o Record revenues of £2,847k for the 12 months to 31 December 2022, up 38% year-on-year (12 months to 31 December 2021: £2,066k)
o Contracted but unrecognised revenue of £3,426k down 8% year-on-year (as at 31 December 2021: £3,732k). The reduction year-on-year is due to no technology development fees being in the order book at 31 December 2022 (31 December 2021: £454k)
o £1,597k of this balance is to be recognised in 2023 (as at 31 December 2021: £1,810k to be recognised in 2022),
o £1,045k in 2024 (as at 31 December 2021: £731k to be recognised in 2023),
o £481k in 2025 and the remainder in 2026
o Operating costs, excluding LTIP provision, increased to £4,510k (12 months to 31 December 2021: £3,107k) predominantly due to £822k costs associated with the Blackbird SaaS platform; a further £467k from increased staff costs and £95k increased marketing costs mainly from attendance at trade shows again post the pandemic
o Adjusted EBITDA loss (pre LTIP and share option costs), increased £609k year on year due to increased operating costs, offset by higher revenue
o LTIP provision credit to income statement of £350k (2021: debit of £358k) booked in the year based on the release of the 2021 year end provision less a payout of £106k for the first LTIP period
o Net loss after tax £1,917k (12 months to 31 December 2021: net loss after tax £2,135k) due to a worse EBITDA pre LTIP provision and share option costs offset by the LTIP movement and a higher R&D tax credit in 2022 compared to the prior year
o Net cash outflow, ignoring proceeds from share issues and transfers into short-term deposits, increased to £2,746k (12 months to 31 December 2021: £1,468k) due to £793k costs associated with our Blackbird SaaS platform and £491k increase in trade debtors due to timing of payments from a few customers (these balances were settled in 2023)
o At 31 December 2022 the Company had cash and short-term deposits of £10,099k (2021: £12,839k) and no debt
Enquiries:
Blackbird plc
Tel: +44 (0)20 8879 7245
Ian McDonough, Chief Executive Officer
Stephen White, Chief Operating and Financial Officer
