Portfolio Company Update

RNS Number : 7205H

FastForward Innovations Limited

22 August 2016

 

22 August 2016

FastForward Innovations Limited

("FastForward", the "Company" or "FFWD")

Portfolio company update

FastForward, an AIM listed company trading under the symbol FFWD, is pleased to announce a number of advancements in its portfolio companies:

Yooya:

Yooya reports that it has made significant progress in its plan since FastForward's most recent announcement;

·    In July, Yooya exceeded 700 million monthly video views*, which is over double the views in June, and four times higher then the same period the year prior

·    It is generating increasing revenue through its platform partnerships, with Q2 revenue doubling that of Q1, which Yooya expects to continue to increase over the remainder of the year

·    It is in high-level discussions with a number of Fortune 500 companies in regards to video and advertising partnerships

·    In July, it exceeded 11 billion lifetime video views**, already surpassing its goal for 2016 calendar year-end

* Yooya's "monthly views" KPI refers to the number of times that videos from creators with whom the Company has executed commercial agreements are viewed in a given month.

** Yooya's "lifetime views" KPI includes all video views of content creators' videos both prior to and after such videos are added to Yooya's network. Yooya tracks lifetime views in part because it is a key metric to both Yooya and potential advertisers given that substantial lifetime views indicate that a video creator has a strong, sustained following. 

Leap Gaming:

Leap Gaming reports that it is on-plan and has made substantial progress towards achieving its growth goals;

·    Leap has signed a direct licensing agreement with Pala Interactive, giving it access to the US market, for the social gaming space, a major growth area

·    Through its partner platforms, Leap has grown its footprint by licensing its products to several new operators in Europe and is in advanced discussions with operators in other geographies

·    Is in high-level negotiations with a major provider of gaming and entertainment to license its technology and product(s)

·    Leap is making significant advancements to its product portfolio, with a focus on additional Virtual Sports titles for both online and land based markets, as well as innovative features based on demand it receives from the market

Additionally, Leap reports that it has moved to larger offices in Tel Aviv which will support its growth. Leap is about to hire a senior sales executive to manage and grow its sales pipeline, and believes it is well-positioned to significantly grow its business.

Schoold:

Schoold management reports that it has taken noteworthy steps in its business plan;

·    Schoold has grown its audience to over 1.3 million downloads of its app, and has added a significant number of users month-over month at a reduced cost per user

·    It has begun implementing its monetization strategy, which includes both consumer and business facing features

o Schoold has begun trialing in-app advertisements in partnership with major advertising networks

o In response to demand from the higher-education industry, it has created a premium feature for colleges and universities to connect and engage with students in the app, called Viewbook

·    Schoold reports that in July, sales of Viewbook have exceeded management expectation

SatoshiPay:

SatoshiPay has formalized a partnership with Visa Europe through the release of a proof-of-concept product utilizing SatoshiPay's technology.

·    SatoshiPay technology will be integrated with Visa's card payments network to enable digital, mobile and online purchases.

·    The product will support the purchasing of media content including videos, music, pdf and other content, and will be integrated with Visa's card payments structure.

Commenting on the update, CEO Lorne Abony "The progress that teams across the FastForward portfolio are making is simply outstanding. At Schoold and Yooya in particular, the growth metrics are far beyond our expectations, which we are delighted about.

While we didn't necessarily anticipate monetization to be occurring at this pace this early, we are excited about the companies' decisions to capitalize on revenue opportunities, which is what we're seeing at both Yooya and Schoold. They have each built incredibly large audiences faster than expected, and it is therefore no surprise that exciting monetization opportunities are now occurring.

In Leap, we are very excited by the progress being made - they have signed a number of important deals in the past few months, and we anticipate they will close some very significant transactions in the short term which, when finalized, we believe will set them apart from other virtual sports technology providers in the market."

For further information on the Company and its investments please visit www.fstfwd.co or contact:

FastForward Innovations Limited [e-mail]

Josh Epstein / Ian Burns

Peel Hunt LLP Tel: [phone]

Dan Webster / Adrian Trimmings / George Sellar

 

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