Blackbird upbeat on prospects despite media slowdown

(Sharecast News) - Cloud video editing technology developer Blackbird said in an update on Tuesday that over the last year, it had seen significant investment and transformation, notably with the launch of the Elevate.io multiplayer editor. The AIM-traded firm, which was holding its annual general meeting, said the platform, designed for the creator software-as-a-service (SaaS) and corporate AV markets, entered early access in November and general release by the end of March.

It said early users had responded positively to Elevate.io's interface and features.

Although still in the general release phase and not yet at a chargeable grade, Elevate.io had attracted "several hundred" early adopters actively using the platform.

Blackbird said it had maintained 100% uptime since the platform's early access launch.

Enhancements to Elevate.io were ongoing, with new features and performance improvements regularly added.

The company said it was aiming to emulate the product-led growth seen in successful SaaS companies like Figma and Canva.

Blackbird said that despite challenges in the media and entertainment (M&E) market, resulting in a revenue decrease to £1.94m in 2023, it had refocused its investment towards the creator space with Elevate.io.

The company said it was targeting EBITDA break-even for its Blackbird division in 2024.

Recent board changes included the departure of John Honeycutt and Dawn Airey, the appointment of Anne de Kerckhove, and Andrew Bentley's upcoming departure as chair on 31 August.

De Kerckhove would assume the role of chair, and the company said it was recruiting an additional non-executive director.

The board said it remained confident in the company's strategy, believing that Elevate.io offered a market potential far greater than traditional M&E.

At 1552 BST, shares in Blackbird were down 9.75% at 3.7p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.