At the company’s AGM, which is scheduled for today, Fiberweb’s Chairman Malcolm Coster was expected to say in an interim statement that the company had made a solid start to trading in 2010, ahead of the equivalent period last year.

The company is said to have benefited from the continued resilience of the hygiene business, especially at the FitesaFiberweb joint venture, as well as from a strong performance in the European Industrial business.

FDiberweb says that despite the steady increase in raw material costs since the start of the year, underlying operating margins have benefited from improved mix and cost reductions and are in line with market expectations. Drawdown under the new loan facility, announced in February 2010, is expected to take place in late June, thereby delaying the impact of higher interest rates to the second half, the company said. As a result earnings are ahead of expectations.

Net debt at the end of March 2010 was £146m which included the impact of £7m of adverse foreign exchange.