On Monday, French fragrance production and distribution group Interparfums raised its annual revenue guidance for 2019, boosted by a buoyant commercial performance at the start of the year and a strong rise in net income in 2018.

“The strong start to the year validates our 2019 prospects and enables us to revise our revenue target upwards,” said Philippe Benacin, CEO of Interparfums, in a press release.

Interparfums, whose business is mostly generated by brand licenses, is now forecasting an annual revenue of €480 million, as opposed to €470 million previously.

The group also confirmed its objective of reaching an operating margin of approximately 14% in 2019.

As for the previous financial year, Interparfums’s net income leapt by 18%, reaching €47.1 million, boosted by “lower tax rates in the USA” and a dynamic sales performance. In 2018, operating margin was 14.5%, compared to 14.2% a year earlier.

In 2018, Interparfums generated a revenue of €455.3 million, equivalent to an 8% increase, notably driven by sales for the Coach fragrance licence. At the end of January, Interparfums announced that Coach perfume sales rose by 66% last year, to €84.4 million.

Among the group’s other leading brands, Montblanc perfumes lost 3%, in the absence of major product launches, while Jimmy Choo scents were 4% up thanks to a strong year-end performance.

“We will continue to invest, and we plan to increase our marketing and advertising budgets accordingly, in order to continue to grow our brands in the long term,” said Philippe Santi, the group’s general manager, who heralded several major launches in 2019.