The firm, which is headquartered in Paris, said it is in the financial position to expand and indicated that it would look at emerging economies for acquisitions.

In its results statement, Sequana said it was “armed with a solid balance sheet, abundant cash flow and high-quality teams”, adding that it was “ready to undertake acquisitions”.

A spokesman said: “We have the capacity to support our two companies. We will make some acquisitions… probably before July.”

The company also said that it would expand rapidly into “high potential geographies [including] Eastern Europe and Asia” and start up a Czech site for carbonless papers.

News of the plans follows the closure of Arjowiggins’ Nivelles facility in Belgium.

In its full-year results, the firm reported total sales of £2.7bn (€4m) in 2006, the same figure as 2005.

Its EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) stood at £127m, representing a margin of 4.7%, down from £149m in 2005.

In its statement, Sequana said: “The group managed to offset weak market conditions, in part through price increases in certain divisions and higher sales volumes in fast-growing regions.”

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2006 RESULTSTotal sales £2.7bn (2005: £2.7bn)
EBITDA £127m (£149m)
Net profit £652m (£237m)