Blackbird (BIRD) H1 2024 earnings summary

Executive summary

• Significant investment continued in transforming towards a product-led growth model, focusing on elevate.io, which reached general release in March 2024 and rapidly grew its user base to 1,800 by September 2024.

• Blackbird platform revenue declined 30% year-over-year to £692k due to prior deal losses, but new deals and renewals were secured with CBS19, a South Korean broadcaster, and others.

• Board strengthened with new Non-Executive Directors, including Anne de Kerckhove (Chair), Youri Hazanov, and Nick Lisher, bringing expertise in marketing, digital, and the Creator Economy.

Financial highlights

• Revenue for H1 2024 was £692k, down 30% year-over-year (H1 2023: £985k), mainly due to A+E Networks and Deltatre deal losses.

• Contracted but unrecognised revenue at 30 June 2024 was £1,262k, down 40% year-over-year.

• Operating costs (excluding LTIP) decreased to £2,028k from £2,442k in H1 2023, reflecting restructuring and cost savings.

• EBITDA loss reduced to £1,408k (H1 2023: £1,523k); net loss before tax was £1,544k (H1 2023: £1,617k).

• Cash and short-term investments totaled £5,618k at 30 June 2024, with no debt.

Outlook and guidance

• Continued momentum behind elevate.io with focus on engineering and user retention; payment gateway launch targeted for Q1 2025.

• Increased marketing planned to drive user adoption; company well-funded with £5.6m at 30 June 2024.