TIDMFBT
RNS Number : 6971Q
Forbidden Technologies PLC
14 September 2017
Dissemination of a Regulatory Announcement that contains inside
information according to REGULATION (EU) No 596/2014 (MAR)
14 September 2017
Forbidden Technologies plc
("Forbidden" or the "Company")
Interim results
Forbidden Technologies plc (AIM: FBT) announces its interim
results for the six months ended 30 June 2017.
Financial highlights
-- Invoiced sales of GBP355k (6 months to 30 June 2016: GBP445k)
-- Revenues of GBP316k (6 months to 30 June 2016: GBP327k)
-- Deferred revenue increased by 74 per cent. to GBP262k (6
months to 30 June 2016: GBP150k)
-- Contracted orders, including deferred revenue not recognised,
of GBP587k up 67 per cent. from GBP351k at 30 June 2016
-- Operating costs of GBP1,190k (6 months to 30 June 2016 GBP1,323k)
-- Reduced EBITDA loss of GBP930k (6 months to 30 June 2016: GBP1,041k)
-- Net loss before tax reduced to GBP1,166k (6 months to 30 June 2016: GBP1,313k)
-- Year on year operational spend, including capital expenditure, reduced by GBP182k
-- Liquid funds of GBP2,769k at 30 June 2017 (31 December 2016: GBP3,711k)
Operational highlights
-- Increase in longer-term, higher value licensing contracts
reflected in higher deferred revenue and stronger order book
-- Two multi-year deals with Deltatre, and a deal with Gfinity
plc, our first client in the rapidly growing market of eSports,
demonstrating increasing traction in sports video solutions and
expansion into new markets
-- Blackbird 9 launched to strengthen the value of the Forscene
video platform to our customers, improving the user experience
Post Period End Highlights
-- Appointed experienced media and growth company specialist Ian
McDonough as CEO on 1 September, filling the vacant position
-- Growth in commercial capacity through the hiring of a new
Sales Director in July, and increased North American sales capacity
through a reseller agreement with F2 Technologies in Canada, signed
in July
-- New business agreed with major North American broadcaster and sports right holder
-- Strategic move from Java to JavaScript as a core technology
David Main, Forbidden Technologies Chairman, commented:
"We started 2017 with a larger pipeline of business than at the
beginning of 2016 and with an increased focus on the live market
versus the traditional broadcast market. Whilst this pipeline has
larger deal sizes than before, it is characterised by a slower
conversion rate. Consequently, while we have seen an increase in
deferred revenue and contracted order book not yet recognised in
revenue, we have seen a slow-down in invoiced sales in the first
half.
"Our commercial capacity was certainly impacted by the
resignation of Aziz Musa as Director and Chief Executive Officer in
February, since he was primarily focused on global sales. After a
period of six months where the Company focused on identifying a
suitable successor, I am delighted that Ian McDonough has joined
the Company as Chief Executive Officer. Ian brings a wealth of
experience and a strong track-record of delivering growth in the
global media sector. He adds real strength to our commercial
capabilities with significant international experience, extensive
broadcast and OTT experience and a strong record of commercialising
innovative solutions.
"We are confident that we now have the commercial leadership in
place to resume a growth path for the business."
Enquiries:
Forbidden Technologies plc
David Main, Chairman
Jonathan Lees, Finance Director
Tel: +44 (0)20 8879 7245
Allenby Capital Limited (Nominated Adviser and Broker)
Nick Naylor
John Depasquale
Richard Short
Katrina Perez
Tel: +44 (0)20 3328 5656
Redleaf Communications (Financial PR Adviser)
David Ison
Sam Modlin
Tel: +44 (0)20 7382 4730
Email: forbidden@redleafpr.com
About Forbidden Technologies plc
Forbidden Technologies plc (AIM: FBT, www.forbidden.co.uk)
floated in February 2000.
The Company develops, markets and licenses a powerful cloud
video platform, with multiple applications, which can be used by
rights holders, broadcasters, sports and news video specialists,
post-production houses, other mass market digital video channels,
corporates and consumers. The platform helps provide customers
visibility on all their content and more effectively monetise their
content, including improving their time to market for live digital
content such as clips and highlights packages for social media.
Websites:
www.forbidden.co.uk
www.forscene.com
Social media:
www.facebook.com/FORscene
www.plus.google.com/+Forscenepro/posts
www.linkedin.com/company/forscene
www.twitter.com/forscenepro
www.youtube.com/user/ForsceneTraining
Chairman's Statement
Having spent the previous year restructuring the organisation to
be more commercially focused, and repositioning Forscene as a
single B2B platform, we have concentrated on adjusting our
commercial focus, in line with market opportunities, to scale our
business. This adjustment has included adding the licensing of
Forscene as a core component of our service offering for
broadcasters and OTT companies who are looking to add cloud
capabilities to their core media production infrastructure.
Our partnership with Deltatre continued to expand, helping the
company to increase its presence in North America and deliver a
superior digital sport solution. The Forscene video platform
enables Deltatre to extend its digital video services across a
range of clients and sports categories for live and on demand
content.
Our commercial strategy has evolved during the period, leading
to an expansion of Forscene's target audience into new high value
segments including eSports. The licensing of Forscene by Gfinity
plc marked our debut in this high growth sector which demands
faster publishing of live events into social media and strong
solutions for increasing fan engagement. This demonstrates the new
commercial opportunities for Forscene in respect of helping
companies interact with their fan base through the use of video in
social media and archived video content.
Since June, we have continued to make commercial progress,
including securing a contract with F2 Technologies, a provider of
IP-based solutions that bring digital content to market, to act as
a value-added reseller in Canada, and we increased our US sales
capacity by adding resource at Bridge Digital, our US reseller. In
addition, we have announced a paid for pilot with a major North
American broadcaster and sports rights holder and expanded our
digital clipping coverage with our New York sporting venue
client.
At the beginning of July, we further increased our global
commercial capacity through the hiring of a Sales Director, Rachel
Darcy, who is responsible for all global regions excluding North
America. Rachel, most recently at Redcentric plc, brings sales
management expertise, a strong knowledge of cloud services and a
track-record of delivering against sales targets whilst launching
new products.
In late August, we announced our first JavaScript
implementation. JavaScript opens up the ease of use of our
solutions and extends the user base and value of our solution
within each customer. We believe this will help establish Forscene
as a core infrastructure component for many broadcasters and OTT
companies, demonstrating another strength of the Forscene service
offering.
Finally, at the beginning of September, we significantly
strengthened our team with the hiring of Ian McDonough as the
Company's new CEO. Following the resignation of Aziz Musa in
February, the Company has been operating without a full time CEO
role for six months. Whilst the Company has been able to secure new
contracts and expand the business, it has not achieved the level of
growth it would have with a full time CEO. Ian McDonough is a
highly commercial and entrepreneurial leader with a strong record
of delivering growth, most recently at Turner (formerly Turner
Broadcasting), BBC Worldwide, and A&E Networks Europe. Ian adds
real strength to our commercial capabilities with significant
experience in the global media industry that will help us drive
further growth.
Financial
Our key growth metric of invoiced sales was down 20% to GBP355k
for the six-month period ending 30 June 2017 versus GBP445k in the
corresponding period last year.
Revenue earned in the period from invoiced sales was down 3% to
GBP316k for the six-month period ending 30 June 2017 versus GBP327k
in the corresponding period last year. Deferred revenue on the
balance sheet to be earned in future accounting periods was up 74%
to GBP262k compared to GBP150k at 30 June 2016. Deferred revenue is
stated net of a 50% provision against the value of the Atos
training contract which was invoiced at the end of 2016. The
delivery of the training services by Atos has been delayed by their
client and may result in a revision to their budget. No revenue has
been recognised for this contract to date.
After cost of sales, which in 2017 includes a higher cost for
external support in North America, the gross profit generated in
the period of GBP260k continued to produce a high gross margin of
82.3%, compared to 86.5% in the corresponding period last year.
Operating costs were GBP1,190k (30 June 2016: GBP1,323k), net of
capitalised development costs of GBP103k (2016: GBP177k). The
EBITDA loss for the period was GBP930k (30 June 2016: GBP1,041k)
and the loss for the period was GBP1,166k (30 June 2016:
GBP1,313k).
Cash used in operations in the period was GBP825k (30 June 2016:
GBP965k). The Company had liquid funds of GBP2,769k at 30 June 2017
(31 December 2016: GBP3,711k).
Future Outlook
We start the second half with contracted orders including
deferred revenue of GBP587k up from GBP351k at 30 June 2016. In
addition, we have a larger more experienced sales team led by both
a Chief Executive Officer and a Sales Director for the first time
since September 2016.
The recent deals, including in the eSports market with Gfinity
plc and the expansion with Deltatre, demonstrate the commercial
opportunities available to the Company with Forscene. The
JavaScript implementation should establish Forscene as a core
component for many broadcasters and OTT companies, and with a
larger and focused sales strategy, the Board and management team
are confident that we have the commercial leadership, platform,
capabilities and funding in place to establish a growth path for
the business.
UNAUDITED AND CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED
STATEMENT OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME FOR
THE SIX MONTHSED 30 JUNE 2017
Unaudited
Half Unaudited Audited
year Half Year
to year to 31
30 June to December
2017 30 June 2016
2016
GBP GBP GBP
CONTINUING OPERATIONS
Revenue 316,349 326,898 774,825
Cost of Sales (56,026) (44,145) (120,790)
=============================== ============ ============ ============
GROSS PROFIT 260,323 282,753 654,035
Operating costs (1,190,336) (1,323,258) (2,441,441)
=============================== ============ ============ ============
EARNINGS BEFORE INTEREST,
TAXATION, DEPRECIATION
AND AMORTISATION (930,013) (1,040,505) (1,787,406)
Depreciation (19,474) (24,978) (50,053)
Amortisation (254,785) (208,700) (456,298)
Employee share option
costs 37,655 (41,003) (73,250)
(236,604) (274,681) (579,601)
OPERATING LOSS (1,166,617) (1,315,186) (2,367,007)
Finance income 160 1,705 3,014
=============================== ============ ============ ============
LOSS BEFORE INCOME TAX (1,166,457) (1,313,481) (2,363,993)
Income Tax - - 23,529
=============================== ============ ============ ============
LOSS FOR THE PERIOD (1,166,457) (1,313,481) (2,340,464)
TOTAL COMPREHENSIVE
INCOME FOR THE PERIOD (1,166,457) (1,313,481) (2,340,464)
=============================== ============ ============ ============
Earnings per share expressed
in pence per share:
Basic - continuing and
total operations (0.65p) (0.97p) (1.63p)
=============================== ============ ============ ============
UNAUDITED AND CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL
POSITION
30 JUNE 2017
Unaudited Unaudited Audited
at 30 June at 30 June at 31 December
2017 2016 2016
GBP GBP GBP
ASSETS
NON-CURRENT ASSETS
Intangible assets 1,192,376 1,486,690 1,343,834
Property, plant and
equipment 73,154 62,225 48,448
=============================== ============= ============= ================
1,265,530 1,548,915 1,392,282
============================== ============= ============= ================
CURRENT ASSETS
Inventories - 6,788 -
Trade and other receivables 372,815 303,466 418,774
Tax receivable - - 23,529
Cash and cash equivalents 2,768,870 1,802,770 3,711,033
------------------------------- ------------- ------------- ----------------
3,141,685 2,113,024 4,153,336
============================== ============= ============= ================
TOTAL ASSETS 4,407,215 3,661,939 5,545,618
=============================== ============= ============= ================
EQUITY
SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY
Called up share capital 1,443,890 1,203,890 1,443,890
Share premium 16,935,301 14,368,893 16,935,301
Capital contribution
reserve 125,000 125,000 125,000
Retained earnings (14,659,028) (12,460,180) (13,454,916)
TOTAL EQUITY 3,845,163 3,237,603 5,049,275
=============================== ============= ============= ================
CURRENT LIABILITIES
Trade and other payables 562,052 424,336 496,343
=============================== ============= ============= ================
TOTAL LIABILITIES 562,052 424,336 496,343
=============================== ============= ============= ================
TOTAL EQUITY AND LIABILITIES 4,407,215 3,661,939 5,545,618
=============================== ============= ============= ================
UNAUDITED AND CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN
EQUITY
FOR THE SIX MONTHSED 30 JUNE 2017
Called Capital
up share Share contribution Retained Total
capital premium reserve earnings equity
GBP GBP GBP GBP GBP
Balance at
1 January
2016 1,054,518 13,317,572 125,000 (11,187,702) 3,309,388
Changes in
equity
Issue of
share capital 149,372 1,051,321 - - 1,200,693
Share based
payment - - - 41,003 41,003
Total comprehensive
income - - - (1,313,481) (1,313,481)
---------------------- ---------- ----------- -------------- ------------- ------------
Balance at
30
June 2016 1,203,890 14,368,893 125,000 (12,460,180) 3,237,603
---------------------- ---------- ----------- -------------- ------------- ------------
Changes in
equity
Issue of
share capital 240,000 2,566,408 - - 2,806,408
Share based
payment - - - 32,247 32,247
Total comprehensive
income - - - (1,026,983) (1,026,983)
====================== ========== =========== ============== ============= ============
Balance at
31 December
2016 1,443,890 16,935,301 125,000 (13,454,916) 5,049,275
====================== ========== =========== ============== ============= ============
Changes in
equity
Share based
payment - - - (37,655) (37,655)
Total comprehensive
income - - - (1,166,457) (1,166,457)
====================== ========== =========== ============== ============= ============
Balance at
30 June 2017 1,443,890 16,935,301 125,000 (14,659,028) 3,845,163
====================== ========== =========== ============== ============= ============
UNAUDITED AND CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS
FOR THE SIX MONTHSED 30 JUNE 2017
Unaudited Unaudited Audited
Half Half Year
year year to 31
to to December
30 June 30 June 2016
2017 2016
GBP GBP GBP
EARNINGS BEFORE INTEREST,
TAXATION, DEPRECIATION
AND AMORTISATION (930,013) (1,040,505) (1,787,406)
Decrease/(increase)
in trade and other receivables 50,709 (69,623) (184,929)
Increase in inventories - (6,788) -
Increase in trade and
other payables 54,498 151,505 223,510
-------------------------------------- ----------- ------------- -------------
CASH USED IN OPERATIONS (824,806) (965,411) (1,748,825)
Tax received 23,529 79,059 79,059
-------------------------------------- ----------- ------------- -------------
NET CASH FROM OPERATING
ACTIVITIES (801,277) (886,352) (1,669,766)
CASH FLOWS FROM INVESTING
ACTIVITIES
Purchase of intangible
fixed assets (103,327) (176,724) (281,466)
Purchase of tangible
fixed assets (37,232) (12,247) (23,545)
Interest received 160 1,705 3,014
-------------------------------------- ----------- ------------- -------------
NET CASH FROM INVESTING
ACTIVITIES (140,399) (187,266) (301,997)
CASH FLOWS FROM FINANCING
ACTIVITIES
Share issue (net of
expenses) - 1,200,693 4,007,101
Repayment of finance
lease (487) - -
--------------------------------- --- ----------- ------------- -------------
NET CASH FROM FINANCING
ACTIVITIES (487) 1,200,693 4,007,101
(Decrease)/increase
in cash and cash equivalents (942,163) 127,075 2,035,338
-------------------------------------- ----------- ------------- -------------
CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS
AT BEGINNING OF PERIOD 3,711,033 1,675,695 1,675,695
CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS
AT END OF PERIOD 2,768,870 1,802,770 3,711,033
-------------------------------------- ----------- ------------- -------------
NOTES TO THE UNAUDITED AND CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED INTERIM
ACCOUNTS
FOR THE SIX MONTHS ENDED 30 JUNE 2017
1. Basis of preparation and accounting policies
These interim statements have been prepared on a basis
consistent with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).
They do not contain all of the information required for full
financial statements, and should be read in conjunction with the
consolidated financial statements of the Company as at and for the
year ended 31 December 2016. These interim financial statements do
not constitute statutory accounts within the meaning of the
Companies Act.
The interim financial information has not been audited. The
interim financial information was approved by the Board of
Directors on 13 September 2017. The information for the year ended
31 December 2016 is extracted from the statutory financial
statements for that year which have been reported on by the Group's
auditors and delivered to the Registrar of Companies. The audit
report was unqualified and did not contain a statement under s498
(2) or 498(3) of the Companies Act 2006.
The accounting policies applied by the Company in these interim
financial statements are the same as those applied by the Company
in its financial statements for the year ended 31 December
2016.
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
END
IR LJMTTMBJBTLR
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
September 14, 2017 02:01 ET (06:01 GMT)
Blackbird (LSE:BIRD)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2024 to May 2024
Blackbird (LSE:BIRD)
Historical Stock Chart
From May 2023 to May 2024