Final Results

Forbidden Technologies PLC 12 March 2001 FORBIDDEN TECHNOLOGIES PLC Preliminary Results for the year ended 31st December 2000 A year of rapid progress Forbidden Technologies plc, which listed on AIM via an offer for Subscription in February 2000 and was established to develop technology for video distribution over the internet, announces its maiden preliminary results. HIGHLIGHTS * Tight cost controls maintained - Loss before tax, £115,218 * Cash balance of £3.31 million - cash resources utilised in the year less than 5% * Initial product met by encouraging interest from potential customers * Picture quality continues to improve * Delays in Broadband offer significant opportunities Vic Steel, Chairman commented: 'This has been an excellent development year for Forbidden Technologies. In February we floated the company successfully on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) of the London Stock Exchange with the objectives of creating a significant shareholder base and of raising sufficient funds to cover the development of our technology. 'In the year ahead we anticipate some expansion of our people resources as we begin the commercial development of our business. Although we expect sales to commence at a modest level during this next year, we are confident that our rate of expansion will increase as our technology becomes more widely exposed and adopted. 'Our progress to date makes us increasingly confident of Forbidden Technologies' ability to become a major participant in the new media of the world.' 12 March 2001 ENQUIRIES: College Hill 020 7457 2020 Nicholas Nelson/Michael Padley Chairman's Statement Results I am pleased to report the full year results to the end of December 2000 for Forbidden Technologies. The company incurred a loss of £115,218 before tax after using £266,274 on the running costs of the business and having the advantage of £151,056 of interest income from its cash resources. The closing balance sheet shows net assets of £3,405,907 of which cash represents £ 3,311,838. The operating costs are in line with those forecast at the beginning of the year and our interest income proved to be higher than originally expected giving us a better than expected loss before tax. Prudent cost control means that the loss after tax represents a diminution of present cash resources of less than 5%. This has been an excellent development year for Forbidden Technologies. In February we floated the company successfully on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) of the London Stock Exchange with the objectives of creating a significant shareholder base and of raising sufficient funds to cover the development of our technology. By approaching the market through an Offer for Subscription we have laid the foundation of a wide private shareholder base, and have in excess of 2,200 shareholders. Following the Offer for Subscription we did a number of share placings which brought cash into the business of £ 2,643,628 increasing the cash balance to £3,400,000. Business Review The purpose of our business is to make money for our shareholders by enabling people throughout the world to use our technology on the internet to watch whatever they choose, whenever they choose. At the beginning of the year we had a working assumption that this was only achievable with the advent of broadband but our rapid technological progress over the last twelve months has proved that high resolution and high frame rate video can be achieved via a standard modem. This opens up market opportunities irrespective of the speed of development of broadband, and recent evidence of further delays in broadband delivery gives us encouragement for the early adoption of our video compression. Our product is proving to be extremely easy to use by both the user and the supplier of video content, since no additional hardware or software is required by either party. I would like to emphasise that our product development programme is a continuous process and our technology continues to be improved at the rate of approximately 2.5% per week, in terms of the data compression rate. This is quite different from the implanting of an industry standard like MPEG which is very specific, rigid and inflexible. By comparison, Forbidden's compression works within a framework of internet standards including TCP/ IP, http and Java, as well as working on a variety of widely used web browsers and operating systems. The number of viewers on our web site has been growing by a factor of ten each quarter In our half-year results, we anticipated that we would have an initial product worthy of commercialisation by the end of the year. This was duly achieved and following announcement of its availability in February, the level of interest from potential customers has been most encouraging and the proportion of positive consumer comment increases in line with the upgrades of the video on our web site, http://www.forbidden.co.uk/. We are very grateful to the significant number of our shareholders who have helped us in trialing and testing the different stages of our product development by giving us regular constructive critical feedback and we hope that they will continue with this valuable contribution. Our management and staff continue to be highly motivated, dedicated and enthusiastic in the pursuit of achieving visible results. Prospects There is clear need for an effective method of delivering high quality video via typical internet connections. As we have introduced better compression rates and better picture quality, the scope for application of our technology is broadening into new areas. These include set top boxes, mobile phones, games consoles - any internet linked device is a potential delivery platform. In the year ahead we anticipate some expansion of our people resources as we begin the commercial development of our business. Although we expect sales to commence at a modest level during this next year, we are confident that our rate of expansion will increase as our technology becomes more widely exposed and adopted. Our progress to date makes us increasingly confident of Forbidden Technologies' ability to become a major participant in the new media of the world. Profit and loss account for the year ended 31 December 2000 2000 1999 £ £ Administrative expenses (266,274) (72,048) Operating loss (266,274) (72,048) Other interest receivable and similar income 151,056 8,870 Loss on ordinary activities before taxation (115,218) (63,178) Tax on loss on ordinary activities (30,211) (1,786) Loss for the financial year (145,429) (64,964) Basic loss per ordinary 0.8 pence share (0.20) pence (0.10) pence All amounts are derived from continuing operations. There were no gains or losses in the current or previous year other than those recognised within the profit and loss account. The results for the year disclosed in the profit and loss account are on an historical cost basis. Balance sheet at 31 December 2000 2000 1999 £ £ £ £ Fixed assets Tangible assets 20,025 19,351 Current assets Debtors 158,562 37,844 Cash at bank and in 3,311,838 530,938 hand 3,470,400 568,782 Creditors: amounts (84,518) (28,097) falling due within one year Net current assets 3,385,882 540,685 Net assets 3,405,907 560,036 Capital and reserves Called up share capital 594,800 500,000 Share premium account 2,896,500 - Capital contribution 125,000 125,000 reserve Profit and loss account (210,393) (64,964) Shareholders' funds - 3,405,907 560,036 equity Cash flow statement for the year ended 31 December 2000 2000 1999 £ £ Reconciliation of operating loss to net cash outflow from operating activities Operating loss (266,274) (72,048) Depreciation charges 29,758 15,517 Loss on sale of fixed assets 1,314 - Increase in debtors (36,052) (37,844) Increase in creditors 27,996 26,311 Net cash outflow from operating activities (243,258) (68,064) Cash flow statement Cash flow from operating activities (243,258) (68,064) Returns on investments and servicing of 66,390 8,870 finance Taxation (1,786) - Capital expenditure (31,746) (34,868) Cash outflow before management of liquid (210,400) (94,062) resources and financing Management of liquid resources (3,043,492) - Financing 2,991,300 625,000 (Decrease)/increase in cash in the year (262,592) 530,938 Reconciliation of net cash flow to movement in net funds (Decrease)/increase in cash in the year (262,592) 530,938 Cash used to increase liquid resources 3,043,492 - Movement in net funds in the year 2,780,900 530,938 Net funds at the start of the year 530,938 - Net funds at the end of the year 3,311,838 530,938 Reconciliation of movements in shareholders' funds for the year ended 31 December 2000 2000 1999 £ £ Loss for the financial year (145,429) (64,964) New share capital subscribed (net of issue costs) 2,991,300 500,000 Capital contribution - 125,000 Net addition to shareholders' funds 2,845,871 560,036 Opening shareholders' funds 560,036 - Closing shareholders' funds 3,405,907 560,036 Notes 1. Accounting policies The following accounting policies have been applied consistently in dealing with items which are considered material in relation to the company's financial statements. Basis of preparation The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with applicable accounting standards and under the historical cost accounting rules. 2. Taxation The charge for taxation is based on the result for the year and takes into account taxation deferred because of timing differences between the treatment of certain items for taxation and accounting purposes. Provision is made for deferred tax to the extent that it is probable that an asset or liability will crystallise. Cash and liquid resources Cash, for the purpose of the cash flow statement, comprises cash in hand and deposits repayable on demand, less overdrafts payable on demand. Liquid resources are current asset investments which are disposable without curtailing or disrupting the business and are either readily convertible into known amounts of cash at or close to their carrying values or traded in an active market. Liquid resources comprise term deposits of less than one year and a corporate bond. 3. Earnings per share No diluted earnings per share has been presented as all potential ordinary shares would be anti-dilutive. Basic earnings per share The weighted average number of shares in issue during the period is 72,174,590 (1999:62,500,000).

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