Blackbird PLC (AIM:BIRD, OTCQX:BBRDF) reported record revenues for the first half of 2022 as the professional cloud video editing and publishing platform made "good progress" on a first licensing deal for its technology, which is being tested with a major US broadcaster.
Revenues of £1.55mln were generated by the cloud-based video editing tech specialist in the six-month period, up 78% on a year ago.
As of the end of August, the company said it has £2.68mln of secured revenue on an unaudited basis, up 52% on the prior year.
Furthermore, contracted but unrecognised revenues stood at £4.05mln at that same date, up from £1.99mln a year ago, of which £0.77mln relates to 2022 and £1.47mln relates to 2023 and the remainder to 2024 and beyond.
Chief executive Ian McDonough said: “The main driver behind this increase in revenue was from development work on our first technology licensing deal.
“We have made good progress towards delivery and it is currently being tested by the licensor together with their first customer, a major US broadcaster, ahead of a full launch and promotion later in the year.”
He said the product will be co-branded 'Powered by Blackbird'.
Since the £8mln fundraise in December, McDonough said the company has made “good progress in recruiting key new talent”, one of its key objectives at the time.
“This new team will be crucial in defining and implementing our products and leveraging our world-class technology, as we enter the sizeable creator economy market.”
The release earlier this year of two white papers was strategically important, he said, as one highlighted Blackbird's unique architecture and associated benefits, while the second reinforced the technology’s sustainability credentials in how it can help the video industry reduce its carbon footprint.
"As we develop our enterprise solution and start to introduce solutions for the creator economy, these are incredibly exciting times for the company and I look forward to working with my colleagues to deliver further success," he said.
Other operational developments in the first half included expansion with Univision and renewals with IMG and several others, plus successful deployment at the Winter Olympics in February 2022, developments since the start of July include a multi-year deal signed with IMG’s Next College Student Athlete (NCSA), a deal signed with SBS Belgium to produce media assets for its OTT platform, and a three-year renewal signed with A+E Networks, the joint venture between Hearst and Disney.
Blackbird also partnered with both Microsoft and EVS at the IBC content and technology event show in Amsterdam in recent days.