Blackbird PLC Regulatory News (BIRD)

Forbidden Technologies plc

 Trading Update

Forbidden Technologies today announces a trading update, which incorporates information on the upgrade of its Forscene video platform.

Following its fund raising last year, and the corresponding sharply increased investment this year in sales, marketing, consumer and platform development, Forbidden Technologies can report the release of its upgraded Forscene video platform. This upgrade has been a key operational target for the Company during 2014 and the Board is pleased to today confirm the release.

The upgrade incorporates a new look and feel to the Forscene editor. Combined with the higher resolution video shown earlier in the year, this is a major step to making the Forscene editor accessible to professional editors around the world in a variety of markets. The upgrade also incorporates a neatly packaged set of web-based administrative tools. These tools allow Forscene clients to grow more easily by reducing the time and cost of managing their productions.

The above features have been tested with a wide variety of clients around the world. The feedback from them - and the seven training sessions in last week's pre-release UK roadshow - indicates that this work has moved Forscene significantly forwards as a platform in broadcast, in sports and in wider markets.

Despite continuing price destruction in broadcast post production software, Forbidden has succeeded in maintaining prices over the past ten years by constantly increasing the benefits of the product. While market reports have indicated that the broadcast TV industry is preparing to move to the cloud, from Forscene's standpoint this has proved to be taking much longer than anticipated. As a result, sales during the second half of the current financial year are expected to be broadly in line with those sales figures reported by the Company in its interim report published in July 2014, which is below previous expectations. Cash outflow will however remain in line with previous guidance.

The technology underlying the Forscene video platform is widely applicable, and one of the purposes of the fund raising last year was to create a consumer offer, building on our four years experience with our Android app.

We ran an in depth consumer market research programme at the beginning of the year, and this led to the appointment of our Director of Consumer Products in May. The Company has created and launched the "eva" brand and is now completing the development of "eva, the video social network".

In the last three months, 5,300,000 people have seen the eva brand, and the eva.co website has been nominated for an international design award. eva is the most visible step in opening up the Forscene platform to the mass market.

The wider use of the Forscene platform, for both professionals and consumers, will be at the core of Forbidden's growth strategy.

The Company will update the market in January 2015.

Enquiries

About Forbidden Technologies plc

Forbidden Technologies plc (AIM: FBT, www.forbidden.co.uk) floated in February 2000.

The Company develops and markets the powerful cloud video platform, Forscene, which is used by broadcasters, in professional web video, in education and by consumers. Forscene is one of the world's most advanced browser-based and mobile applications.