The CEO of the fragrance manufacturer’s French arm Philippe Benacin told Reuters news agency that preparations towards an acquisition were progressing well.

Benacin also confirmed that sales for the year will fall slightly but a recovery is expected in 2010 due to important new launches, including new products in the Lanvin, Van Cleef and Arpels, and Burberry ranges.

The company’s recent results benefited from forward exchange contracts that it set up to try to counter the negative effect of the exchange rate – it is based in the the US but does most of its business in Europe.

The contracts made gains of $2.5m (€1.76m) in the first quarter and $3.9m in the second quarter, contributing $1.2m and $1.9m respectively to earnings.