Olympics tech firm Atos posts huge loss but says Games unaffected

PARIS - Debt-ridden French IT group Atos, the cybersecurity and data provider for the Paris Olympics, posted a huge annual loss but vowed that its troubles would not disrupt the Games.

The firm will transmit Olympic and Paralympic game results nearly instantaneously to broadcasters and media during the summer events.

Atos, the International Olympic Committee's technology partner since the Salt Lake City Winter Games in 2002, is in charge of managing more than 300,000 accreditations.

The company reported a net loss of 3.4 billion euros for 2023 due to asset writedowns and said it was aiming for a debt restructuring by July.

Atos has to repay or refinance 3.65 billion euros of loans and bonds maturing by the end of 2025.

"There are no concerns about the Olympic Games," Atos chief executive Paul Saleh said in a telephone conference.

"We have just completed a test phase on the operational level which was extraordinarily well received by everyone," Saleh said.

The Olympics organising committee said last week that it had "complete confidence in the Atos teams ... to honour the contract which binds them" to the IOC and the Paris Games.

Atos' cybersecurity arm, Eviden, will provide cybersecurity to the entire information system for the Games, the Olympic sites, personnel and volunteers.

Organisers expect the Olympics, which will take place from July 26 to August 11, to be the target of cyberattacks.