Atos managed to gain ground on the Paris Bourse on Wednesday, despite the failure of its negotiations with EP Equity Investment (EPEI), the holding company of Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky, which was considering buying its historical activities.

The technology group explained that it had not reached a "satisfactory" agreement at the end of the exclusive discussions initiated last summer with a view to selling its 'Tech Foundations' outsourcing division.

In a press release, Atos says it intends to continue considering strategic options for this division, which will be managed as a separate activity from Eviden (cybersecurity), with a coordinated commercial strategy.

This announcement comes as the company unveiled unsurprising preliminary annual results this morning, in line with its targets.

Sales for fiscal year 2023 came in at 10.7 billion euros, up 0.4% organically, with Eviden's 2.9% organic growth more than offsetting Tech Foundations' 1.7% organic decline.

Operating margin came in at 4.4%, up 1.7 percentage points organically, with improved profitability at both Eviden and Tech Foundations.

Free cash flow for the year 2023 is a closely watched figure, at nearly 1.1 billion euros, against a backdrop of higher reorganization costs, while net financial debt stands at 2.2 billion.

Atos says it has rescheduled the publication of its full annual results to March 20, as its auditors have not finalized their audit work on goodwill impairment.

Following these announcements, Atos shares rose by more than 4% on Wednesday morning on the Paris Bourse.

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