(Reuters) – Atos has entered “a pivotal Year” following a string of setbacks for 2021, according to the French head of an IT consulting firm.

Half of the firm’s market value was lost last year. The company parted with its boss and exited France’s blue-chip equity index. This prompted speculation about an activist investor buyout.

Rodolphe Bemer, the former Chief Executive Officer Elie Giard, stated that Atos faces significant headwinds for 2021. Major impairments were discovered after a detailed review of the assets and contracts (…).

Atos was partly formed by a number of acquisitions led by former CEO Thierry Bréton. Now EU industry chief, Atos has seen its annual net profit slide to 2.96 million euros. Therefore, they will no longer propose a dividend.

Belmer said that he would start again with a fresh slate and stated this month that Atos took writedowns totalling approximately 2.4 billion euro ($2.7 billion).

Le Monde reported Monday that the CEO of the Group plans to dismantle the organization. A French expert said this was because he also intends to reorganize it around three units.

Belmer explained that the governance would be the foundation of the new Atos. It will be simpler and more efficient.

Company noted that the continued decline of classic IT services, inflation in personnel costs and tensions in supply chains will further impact profitability during the first half. But revenue growth should be positive for the second part.

Belmer stated that “2022 is a crucial year for our group and will pave the way to an ambitious turnaround plan.”

($1 = 0.8913 euro)