PARIS – French technology company Atos ( ATOS.PA ) named Paul Saleh as its new chief executive on Monday and warned that free cash flow would be slightly below its original target for the second half of the year, sending the share price lower. .
Atos said Saleh, currently chief financial officer, would become chief executive – the company’s fourth in less than two years as it grappled with a series of profit warnings.
Atos shares fell 16% in early trading. The stock is down roughly 40% since the start of the year.
Saleh takes over from Yves Bernaert, who is leaving the company “after an intensive period of transformation”, Atos said, with Jacques-Francois de Perst joining as CFO following financial roles at car parts business Mobivia and telecoms group Vodafone.
Les Echos newspaper reported on Monday that the company’s restructuring plan was facing difficulties.
Atos, which is taking longer than expected to negotiate the sale of its loss-making arm Tech Foundations, said it has not filed for bankruptcy proceedings with creditors.
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The potential sale of Czech billionaire Daniel Křetínský’s Tech Foundation EPEI seems far away. Les Echos said on Monday, citing an unnamed source, that a “last chance” meeting between the parties was planned for the next few days.
Representatives of Atos and Křetínský’s camp did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment on the report.
Atos said on Monday that CEO Saleh would continue to focus on debt refinancing, the sale of the Tech Foundations business and the sale of the company’s Big Data & Security (BDS) activities to Airbus ( AIR.PA ).
