PARIS :Struggling French IT consulting firm Atos posted higher-than-expected quarterly sales on Thursday, driven by its cybersecurity and digital transformation unit Eviden, as the groups works on a costly split-up plan.
First-quarter revenue was up 2.8 per cent from a year earlier to 2.81 billion euros ($3.11 billion). This beat the 2.75 billion-euro consensus compiled by the company, based on 11 analyst estimates.
Eviden, which the group plans to spin-off by the end of the year, posted a 9.5 per cent growth in sales on an organic basis to 1.33 billion euros, offsetting a 2.6 per cent drop in sales at Atos' loss-making Tech Foundations IT consulting legacy activities.
The quarter was notably marked by a withdrawal by Airbus, the world's largest planemaker, from a plan to buy a minority stake in Eviden.
The group confirmed its full-year targets, including a group revenue organic growth in the range of -1 per cent to 1 per cent in 2023 and an operating margin between 4 per cent to 5 per cent.
Atos said its much-expected shareholders meeting will take place on June 28, following strong criticisms from some investors against the company's board.
($1 = 0.9047 euros)