Sales of French company Atos increased in the third quarter with good forecasts for the next three months

French company Atos said its sales bounced back in the third quarter, well above expectations as the IT consulting firm wants to regain market confidence with a costly spin-off plan.

The company, whose shares have fallen significantly over the past year, said it expects the good momentum to continue in the fourth quarter, due in part to delayed orders. The funding for the division of the group was also completed.

Revenue for the three months ended September 30 rose 1.1% in constant currency from a year earlier to 2.82 billion euros ($2.81 billion).

The figure beat the average of 12 analyst estimates compiled by the company, which had forecast a 0.4% drop in constant currency.

Atos reaffirmed its full-year targets, saying it now expects constant-currency revenue growth to be in the upper half of the -0.5% to 1.5% range.

Learn how to trade stocks and other popular assets with Top Forex brokers in France

The company said its book value-to-account ratio, which helps traders and investors gauge the performance of tech companies, was 71% in the third quarter, signaling weak demand as fewer orders were received than filled during the period.

Atos management said it expects a significant improvement in this indicator in the fourth quarter.

“We’ve had delays in major contracts that will materialize in the fourth quarter,” co-chief executive officer Philippe Oliva told reporters in a call.

The company also added that the unbundling plan, which includes the spin-off and consolidation of the most profitable assets such as the BDS cybersecurity division, is underway and is expected to be completed in the second half of 2023.

The cost of the capital plan is estimated at around €1.6bn, 44% of which is funded through the sale of non-core assets. Atos is also looking for buyers for assets worth 480 million euros.