IWP International already has interests "from Warsaw in the east to Toronto in the west" and was now exploring expansion opportunities in South America and China, directors revealed yesterday. IWP embarked in a major expansion in June, when it acquired an 80 per cent stake in the British cosmetics company, Constance Carroll Holdings, for £38.5 million. Newly elected IWP director, Mr Geoff Wilkinson, who is the chief executive of Constance Carroll, said that South America could be worth £2 million sterling in turnover to the company within three years. He was speaking after the company's annual general meeting in Dublin yesterday.

He said the company had been "knocking on the door" in China for the past two years. "Sales are very, very small. But we are developing the market slowly," he said.

Mr Frank Plunkett Dillon, IWP chairman, said overall group sales and profits were satisfactorily ahead on the same period last year, with increased sales in Poland, through IWP's subsidiary distribution company, Polbita. "In spite of the usual customer pressure on prices, margins are holding up. This coupled with our recent acquisition of Constance Carroll, makes us confident that the current year will have a satisfactory outcome," he said.

After the meeting, the chief executive, Mr Joe Moran, said IWP had an option to buy out the remaining 20 per cent of Constance Carroll after three years at fixed price arrangement, depending on its profit performance. IWP was also hoping to acquire the remaining 30 per cent stake of Polbita for between $2.5 million and $5 million in the current year. In his annual report and statement, he said that although IWP's Dutch personal care businesses had a good year, adverse currency conversion amounted to a £1.4 million loss when compared with last year's stronger guilder.