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Business

Lydall CEO sees demand growth for its filtration materials past pandemic

Lydall CEO sees demand boom for its filtration material beyond pandemic

Sara Greenstein, CEO of Lydall, told CNBC’s Jim Cramer on Friday that the company is working with the White House in Biden to replenish the national supply of personal protective equipment and she expects the demand for specialty filtration products to grow beyond the pandemic will be.

Based in Manchester, Connecticut, the company manufactures specialty filtration material used in N95 respirators and surgical masks. These products are especially important to the healthcare sector and frontline workers during a health crisis.

Greenstein said in a “Mad Money” interview that President Joe Biden’s administration is “making active efforts” to build a strategic supply.

As part of his first steps after taking office last month, President Joe Biden invoked the Defense Production Act to strengthen supply chains for PPE and replenish US inventories. Lydall won a $ 13.5 million federal contract last summer under the previous administration to increase domestic production of meltblown air filtration media, a fabric component in N95 respirators made to protect against germs.

The company expanded capacity to meet demand for materials, with one line running at full capacity and selling out “for the foreseeable future,” Greenstein said. Two more lines should be in operation by the third quarter, she said.

The increased production allows Lydall to make enough material to make 140 million N95 masks a month, up from about 21 million a month about a year ago. The company has announced that the US will require approximately 2 billion breathing apparatus per year. The demand for surgical masks and other consumer masks is expected to remain elevated beyond the pandemic.

“We assume that national inventories around the world, including here in the US, will need to be rebuilt and replenished, which is why we expect strong demand for well-made PPE at least until the end of 2022,” said Greenstein.

Lydall is also a provider of thermal and acoustic products, including for building and auto end markets. The 150-year-old company, with sales of $ 622 million, had sales of $ 764 million in 2020, a decrease of nearly 9% year over year.

PPE manufacturing was Lydall’s primary focus last year, but indoor and outdoor air quality products will be a major driver of post-pandemic business, as it was before Covid-19.

Specialty filtration is a key component of the growing indoor air quality market, and a move to higher efficiency filtration is only expected to accelerate as new and stricter standards are introduced around the world, Greenstein said.

Bringing their employees back to the office alone will create an estimated $ 3 billion market alone, Greenstein said, adding that another $ 15 billion market will emerge as buildings get new codes.

“The demand for higher performing specialty filtration solutions will eclipse the demand we see today for PPE,” she said.

Prior to the coronavirus pandemic, Lydall sales rose double digits in 2017 and 2018 before rising 6.6% to $ 837.40 million in 2019. The company had net income of more than $ 70 million for the past two years, but had net income of at least $ 20 million going back to 2014.

Lydall stock rose 4% on Friday to $ 34.83 at close of trading. The stock is up 16% in the first two months of the year and has expanded its earnings after rising 46% last year.

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Business

Affirm’s new debit card is basically the ‘anti-credit card,’ says CEO

Affirm's new debit card is really the 'anti-credit card,' says CEO

Max Levchin, CEO of Affirm, touted the company’s new physical debt card offering on Friday, telling CNBC that it would offer customers similar benefits as a credit card, but with greater clarity upfront.

“It certainly shouldn’t be called a credit card, not even because it’s some kind of anti-credit card. I don’t want to be provocative,” Levchin told Closing Bell, criticizing what he sees as a lack of transparency regarding credit card interest payments and late fees.

“Literally every one of these things is the exact opposite of Affirm’s card,” added Levchin. “You know exactly what you’re going to pay. You know exactly what the payment schedule is, and there will be no late fees under any circumstances. I think it’s the opposite in many ways. It serves the same purpose.” Purpose: You can pay for things now or over time. “

Affirm announced its debit card offering on Thursday, and the company expects to make the card generally available later in 2021. Affirm, which Levchin founded in 2012, offers so-called “buy now, pay later” services. It works with a number of merchants such as Peloton and offers customers point-of-sale loans that can be repaid in fixed monthly installments. The interest rates on the loans can vary between 0% and 30%, but Affirm does not charge compound interest.

Affirm has usually been associated with online purchases. Levchin told CNBC that the company’s debit card offering is a recognition of various customer preferences and the role offline purchases continue to play.

“I know our users, mostly Millennials and Gen Zers, love their debit cards. They love trading them offline, and the purpose of this product was to provide the ‘buy now, pay later’ functionality that they do really loved online – and also with us really offline, but never had in a map – to where they are. “

“The debit card form factor is a metaphor for everyday expenses. This is where we are trying to arrive,” added Levchin, co-founder of PayPal and former CEO of Yelp.

According to a press release, Affirm Card users can pay for a purchase in full from their bank account. The press release said they can choose to pay in installments using what the company calls a “unique after-purchase feature”. Affirm says on its website that users can manage the purchases through its mobile app.

Affirm went public in mid-January, gaining 98% on the first day to close at $ 97.24. The stock ended Friday’s session at $ 93.06 below that level, giving the company a market cap of approximately $ 24 billion. The shares traded up to $ 146.90 apiece in early February.

Prior to Affirm’s first deal in January, Levchin told CNBC that his “goal is to be a viable alternative to credit cards.”

Affirm, which ranked 23rd on CNBC Disruptor 50’s 2020 list, has been a beneficiary of the stay-at-home economy as more people shopped online and turned to their services. Levchin said Affirm’s debit card is well positioned to capitalize on as the economic reopening expands and shoppers spend money in different ways.

“There will be a lot of interesting challenges when the country reopens, but the dominant thread it will reopen will create a lot more opportunities for this product, which we have proven to be what our customers want and need,” Levchin said .

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Politics

Dominion sues MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell over pro-Trump election conspiracies

Dominion sues MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell over pro-Trump election conspiracies

Mike Lindell, CEO of MyPillow, waits outside the west wing of the White House before entering Washington, DC on January 15, 2021.

Drew Angerer | Getty Images

Dominion Voting Systems sued Mike Lindell, CEO of MyPillow, Monday, accusing former President Donald Trump’s staunch ally of making false conspiracies about the 2020 election “because the lie is selling pillows”.

The $ 1.3 billion defamation lawsuit states that Lindell knew his repeated claims that the election had been “stolen” were not backed by evidence, but were held to help Trump’s supporters of the MyPillow purchase -To stimulate products.

The 115-page complaint, filed in federal court in Washington, DC, cites numerous statements Lindell made in television interviews and social media posts, as well as in a two-hour documentary that aired on conservative media in February.

“MyPillow’s defamatory marketing campaign – featuring promo codes like” FightforTrump “,” 45 “,” Proof “and” QAnon “- has increased MyPillow sales by 30-40% and has continued to mislead people to lie their choices in pillow purchases divert, “says Dominion’s lawsuit.

In a phone interview with CNBC, Lindell said, “I’m very happy that you finally filed the lawsuit.”

“My message to Dominion is that you finally did it because it’s going to be in the spotlight again,” said Lindell.

Lindell also denied Dominion’s claims that his company benefited from his efforts.

“They also say that I benefited from it, or that I used this for MyPillow to advertise and that’s not true. I lost 22 retailers,” Lindell said. “The culture for MyPillow has been canceled.”

The lawsuit against Lindell is just the latest effort by Dominion to seek redress for the “enormous damage” caused by the “viral disinformation campaign” against the electoral society whose systems were deployed in some areas of the US during the presidential election.

Last month, Dominion sued Trump’s personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, accusing him of spreading similar conspiracies about the company to “get rich financially”.

Giuliani had called the lawsuit, which also claimed more than $ 1.3 billion in punitive and compensatory damages, as “intimidating the hateful left wing to obliterate and censor the exercise of freedom of speech and the ability of lawyers.” To vigorously defend customers. “

Smartmatic, another optional equipment company targeted after President Joe Biden’s victory in a series of conspiracies, filed its own billions of dollars in defamation lawsuit against the owner of Fox News in early February.

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Business

Porsche CEO warns of ‘very severe’ international chip scarcity

Porsche CEO warns of 'very serious' global chip shortage

The CEO of Porsche warned on Monday that the daily operations of the German luxury car maker could be affected by a “very serious” global semiconductor shortage in the coming months.

“The semiconductor issue is very serious, as the entire industry is affected by the great demand for consumer electronics and the faster return of the automotive sector,” said Oliver Blume, CEO of Porsche, on Monday to CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe”.

“We could be affected every day, so we will be watching very closely over the next few days and months what we can do. We have to relax in the short term and look for long-term measures.”

His comments come after a sudden surge in global auto sales late last year that coincided with a lack of essential chip components. The delivery bottlenecks brought the assembly lines of the chip-dependent automotive industry to a standstill and stopped the production of hundreds of thousands of vehicles worldwide.

Demand for these chips or semiconductors has increased during the coronavirus pandemic as consumers bought game consoles, laptops and televisions in an era of limited mobility.

Many of these products – including certain Chromebook laptops and next-generation consoles like the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 – are either sold out or have long lead times.

Supply chains

According to analysts, the chip shortage has hit the automotive industry particularly hard because of the industry’s “just-in-time” supply chain that the automotive industry has relied on for decades to save capital.

When asked whether Porsche could be forced to rethink this supply chain model, Blume replied: “Yes. This is very important for the future in order to think about the supply chain.”

“We have to think about which storage we really need for all these stocks. We have to be more flexible and plan the immediate capacities more precisely.”

The Porsche shares listed in the German Xetra Dax index have risen by 15% since the beginning of the year. The share price has barely changed in the past 12 months.

– CNBC’s Sam Shead contributed to this report.

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Business

Clorox increasing manufacturing of disinfectant wipes amid Covid: CEO Linda Rendle

Clorox expanding production of disinfectant wipes amid Covid: CEO Linda Rendle

Linda Rendle, CEO of Clorox, told CNBC on Friday that the company had further increased the production of its disinfectant wipes to meet the increased demand from the global Covid crisis as early as the second year.

“We made about 1 million canisters of wipes in the last quarter and brought them to stores every day,” said Rendle at Closing Bell. “This quarter we have up to 1.5 million canisters per day and will continue to expand these when we bring new capacities online in the next few months.”

Consumers stocked up on various cleaning products during the pandemic, which, despite efforts to ramp up production, led to supply bottlenecks for items such as Clorox wipes. In December, Clorox chief operating officer Eric Reynolds told NBC News that the limited availability may last until “mid-2021”.

Clorox has raised its full-year revenue forecast following its quarterly report earlier this month. The company now expects revenue to grow between 10% and 13% in fiscal 2021, up from previous projections of 5% to 9% growth.

The number of coronavirus cases has been falling recently and Covid vaccines are becoming more and more accessible, leading to optimism that the acute phase of the pandemic will soon be over. For Clorox, Rendle said the rosier sales picture was partly due to a shift in people’s view of sanitation as a result of the health crisis.

“This is true here in the US, but really all over the world. People focus on cleaning and more on safety and well-being, not just on work,” said Rendle, who took over the management of the household products manufacturer in September. She had served as President of Clorox.

Before the coronavirus pandemic, a trend in the detergent industry was a quest for more sustainability and transparency. To this end, Clorox launched compostable cleaning wipes in January 2020. However, according to Rendle, production had to be halted due to Covid, as products that could be manufactured faster were given a higher priority.

“We will be bringing these compostable wipes back and we expect them to be a large part of our portfolio as we move forward,” she said.

Clorox shares fell 1.37% to $ 187.05 apiece on Friday. Based in Oakland, Calif., Its shares rose 13.5% over the past 12 months.

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Business

Coca-Cola Zero Sugar would be the firm’s greatest supply of progress in 2021, CEO says

Coca-Cola Zero Sugar will be the company's biggest source of growth in 2021, CEO says

The biggest source of growth for Coca-Cola over the next few years is likely to be the company’s sugar-free version of the company’s soda of the same name.

“In fact, Coke Zero Sugar will be the best growth driver in ’21 and likely for the few years to come,” said James Quincey, CEO of Coke, in an interview that aired on CNBC’s “Closing Bell” Friday.

The drink was launched nationwide in 2017 as an updated version of Coke Zero, which was 12 years old at the time. Coke Zero Sugar was designed to be more similar to traditional Coke soda, but still appeal to health-conscious consumers by omitting the sugar. And the product has paid off for the company, fueling sales growth even during the coronavirus pandemic.

“Coke Zero grew through Covid in 2020 and is the biggest growth driver for the company in absolute terms,” ​​Quincey told CNBC’s Sara Eisen.

Quincey pointed out Coke’s Topo Chico Hard Seltzer and AHA Sparkling Water as new products that did well in the early days of their launch.

Other beverage launches like Coke Energy have been challenged by the current crisis. Executives told analysts on Feb.10 that they would double Coke Energy this year after lockdowns impacted its first launch earlier last year.

Coke’s stock is down 16% over the past 12 months, bringing it to a market value of $ 215 billion.

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Business

Marriott CEO Arne Sorenson remembered for main along with his coronary heart

Marriott CEO Arne Sorenson remembered for leading with his heart

Following the news of his death after nearly two years of battling pancreatic cancer, several current and former Marriott International employees shared how CEO Arne Sorenson was leading with his heart.

“I consider Arne’s legacy to Marriott and the hospitality industry to be immeasurable. Perhaps one of Arne’s greatest legacies is his principled and gracious leadership, an ‘Esprit de Corps’ that I believe is rooted today and certainly for generations by Marriott’s global workforce Come on, said Gregory Miller, a former long-time Marriott employee and now a property analyst with Truist.

Miller added that he was “gutted” when he heard the news.

Sorenson, who made Marriott the world’s largest hotel chain after acquiring $ 13 billion worth of Starwood Hotels & Resorts in 2016, died at the age of 62, the company said Tuesday.

As a journalist who covered the company for several years, Sorenson’s warmth was evident.

Sorenson knew everyone’s name at a conference. He would take the time to ask about your family. He never hesitated to answer difficult questions about the rights and policies of hotel workers. He exemplified what many managers try but often don’t do: Show compassion.

Unlike other corporate leaders who tend to stick to the script, Sorenson didn’t hold back in interviews and barely crushed words.

In a 2018 interview with CNBC, Sorenson said the US-China trade war and the Trump administration’s rhetoric regarding immigration had resulted in fewer foreign arrivals and new visas being issued.

Earlier this year, Sorenson was one of the first CEOs to speak out and condemn the January 6 uprising in the U.S. Capitol.

“I realize that we have staff who have very different views about the results of these elections and the direction the United States is going … but we cannot trample the Constitution,” he said at the time.

Marriott – based in Bethesda, Maryland, just outside Washington, DC – quickly followed Sorenson’s testimony by making political donations to Republicans who voted against Joe Biden’s certification as president. Other companies responded similarly.

At the height of the coronavirus pandemic, when hundreds of Marriott employees were vacationing, Sorenson tore up a speech to employees in mid-March.

“I can tell you that I’ve never had a more difficult moment than this,” he said at the time. “There is simply nothing worse than telling valued employees, the people who are at the heart of this company, that their roles are being influenced by events that are completely beyond their control.”

While competition has only increased in the past five years, perhaps his longstanding friendship with one of his greatest rivals, Hilton CEO Chris Nassetta, was a good testament to the kind of leader Sorenson was. Nassetta said, “I will miss him and the friendship we have built.”

I will miss him and the friendship we have built.

Sorenson’s death drew a lot of support and recognition from CEOs, political leaders, and business executives across a variety of industries, including Walmart CEO Doug McMillon and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella.

The time has come for Sorenson’s death as the hospitality industry is still being hit by the effects of Covid-19 while preparing for a possible recovery in the second half of this year.

A new trending report from Expedia in 2021 found that 42% of respondents said the recent news about coronavirus vaccines made them more hopeful about travel or made them book an upcoming trip.

A big recovery and a return to bigger venues like resorts, Marriott announced plans last week to more than double its portfolio of all-inclusive resorts with an additional 19 new hotels, all located in the Caribbean. Central America and Mexico.

“Inclusive resorts have become more attractive during the pandemic,” Tony Capuano, Marriott’s director of global development, told CNBC in early February.

Capuano will continue day-to-day operations with Stephanie Linnartz, Group President of Consumer Operations. While the hotel operator is unlikely to name a successor for Sorenson anytime soon, the company is said to be considering Capuano and Linnartz and current CFO Leeny Oberg as potential CEO candidates.

Marriott is also facing competition from up-and-coming competitor Airbnb, which saw a sharp surge in bookings over the past year as consumers fled big cities for more space and comfort.

Peter Kern, Expedia CEO, said its rental platform saw “strong growth” over the last quarter. In a CNBC interview last week, Kern dismissed the idea that travelers will not be returning to hotels.

“”[Home rentals] Airbnb has been an important part of what goes on there and we obviously respect what they achieved. But I don’t think this is a big change in the way we all want to travel. Many of us want to go back to the spa or the hotel pool, “Kern said on February 12 at” Squawk on the Street “.

Marriott reports profits on Thursday and the change in leadership is likely to be a topic of discussion.

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Health

Elizabeth Holmes resists authorities efforts to element her CEO life-style

Elizabeth Holmes resists government efforts to detail her CEO lifestyle

Elizabeth Holmes, founder and former executive director of Theranos, arrives for a hearing in the U.S. District Court in the Federal Building of Robert F. Peckham in San Jose, California on Monday, November 4, 2019.

Yichuan Cao | NurPhoto | Getty Images

Elizabeth Holmes’ attorneys strongly opposed the government’s attempts to describe her flamboyant lifestyle in front of a jury, saying the move “risks creating class bias” that are irrelevant to her criminal trial.

Holmes, who faces a dozen fraud charges, earned a salary and accomplishments commensurate with her position as CEO of Theranos, her attorneys wrote in court documents filed late Tuesday.

The government has argued that Holmes’ high-flying lifestyle was fueled by their fraud.

Your lawyers say this is just wrong.

They write that the evidence says nothing about their motive. “If so, a CEO could be said to have a motive for cheating. Rather, the real value of the evidence to the government is to paint a (misleading) picture of Ms. Holmes as a woman, fashion, one prioritized luxury lifestyle and fame and invited a referendum on startup and corporate culture. “

Introducing details of Holmes’ expenses, her lawyers wrote, would be a waste of time, adding that her so-called luxury travel accommodations appear to be approved by the Theranos board and justified by a full itinerary.

“Evidence of the purchase of expensive clothing, makeup, self-care products, and other goods (none of which are allegedly beyond their means) that the government is seeking to introduce through otherwise irrelevant emails from Ms. Holmes’ staff to assistants does not constitute a motive for fraud firm, “wrote Holmes’ lawyers, adding that instead they” are trying to ignite by invoking stereotypes of class and gender “.

Holmes often wore a black turtleneck, an image she cultivated in the print and broadcast media. Her attorneys point out that much of her clothing was bought for work events, adding, “The government ignores the criticism of Ms. Holmes for wearing the same outfit every day.”

Holmes’ attorneys argue that their motive for making money as CEO is “a proposal that can apply to anyone, poor or rich”.

Last month, prosecutors said the fact that Holmes received a variety of benefits, both tangible and intangible, “tends to show that she wanted to cheat in order to obtain those benefits”.

Holmes, a Stanford dropout, had a six-figure salary and a billion dollar stake in Theranos until the company closed in 2018.

One of the issues that emerged in the extensive government files was that Holmes was more motivated by money and fame than revolutionizing the healthcare industry.

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Business

The writer of League of Legends is investigating its C.E.O. after sexual harassment claims.

The publisher of League of Legends is investigating its C.E.O. after sexual harassment claims.

Riot Games, the video game publisher that produced the popular League of Legends, said Tuesday it is investigating allegations of sexual harassment and gender discrimination against its executive director Nicolo Laurent.

Mr. Laurent and Mr. Riot were sued in the Los Angeles Supreme Court in January by Sharon O’Donnell, a former executive assistant to Mr. Laurent. In court documents, Ms. O’Donnell said Mr. Laurent made repeated sexually stimulating remarks about her, asked her to work in his house when his wife was away, and told women who worked for Riot how to cope with stress bypasses The coronavirus pandemic was “having children”.

“Riot Games is a male-dominated culture,” the lawsuit said. Women workers like Ms. O’Donnell were “discriminated against, harassed and treated as second-class citizens,” it said.

When she denied Mr. Laurent’s advances, Ms. O’Donnell said in the lawsuit that he yelled at her, became hostile, removed some of her responsibilities, and finally fired her in July.

Ms. O’Donnell “believes this was because she refused to have sex or an affair with the defendant,” according to the lawsuit, which Daily Esports first reported Tuesday.

Riot denied Ms. O’Donnell’s allegation in a statement, saying she was “fired from the company over seven months ago due to several well-documented complaints from various people”.

According to Riot, an outside law firm was investigating Mr. Laurent and was overseen by a committee of the company’s board of directors. Riot said Mr. Laurent is cooperating with the investigation.

Riot, owned by the Chinese internet giant Tencent, has grown into one of the world’s most famous video game companies.

According to an estimate by research firm SuperData, the flagship League of Legends, released in 2009, had sales of more than $ 1.8 billion last year. And the series of professional competitions that Riot has built around the game has drawn tens of millions of fans, turning star gamers into esports celebrities that can make millions of dollars.

But Riot has also come under fire for its sexist, toxic workplace. In 2019, it was agreed to pay $ 10 million to the 1,000 women who had worked at the company since 2014 to settle a class action lawsuit for gender discrimination and unequal pay.

The California Department for Fair Employment and Housing, which has been investigating Riot since 2018, said last year the women could be eligible for up to $ 400 million, which Riot denied. Earlier this month it was said that court action would be taken to provide “class-wide relief” for the women who worked at Riot.

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Business

J&J CEO says individuals might get annual photographs for the subsequent a number of years

J&J CEO says people may get annual shots for the next several years

Johnson & Johnson Chairman and CEO Alex Gorsky celebrates the 75th anniversary of his company’s listing on the New York Stock Exchange on September 17, 2019.

Brendan McDermid | Reuters

People may need to be vaccinated against Covid-19 annually for the next several years, just like they would with seasonal flu shots, Johnson & Johnson CEO Alex Gorsky told CNBC on Tuesday.

“Unfortunately as [the virus] Spreads can also mutate, “he told CNBC’s Meg Tirrell during a Healthy Returns Spotlight event.” Every time it mutates, it’s almost like another click on the dial, so to speak, where we can see another variant, another mutation that can affect its ability to fight off antibodies or not just a therapeutic agent, but also react differently to a vaccine. “

Public health officials and infectious disease experts have indicated that there is a high probability that Covid-19 will become an endemic disease, meaning it will be present in communities at all times, albeit likely at lower levels than it is now. Health officials must constantly look for new variants of the virus so scientists can make vaccines against them, medical experts say.

Gorsky’s comment came after J&J stated it had applied to the Food and Drug Administration for emergency approval for its coronavirus vaccine. Unlike Pfizer and Moderna’s vaccines, which require two doses three to four weeks apart, J&J only requires one dose, which makes logistics easier for healthcare providers.

US officials and Wall Street analysts are eagerly awaiting J & J’s vaccine approval, which could come as early as this month. President Joe Biden is trying to speed up the pace of vaccination in the US, and experts say his government will need a range of drugs and vaccines to beat the virus that killed more than 450,000 Americans last year at Johns Hopkins University .

The Department of Health and Human Services announced in August that it had signed a contract with Janssen, J & J’s pharmaceutical subsidiary, worth approximately $ 1 billion for 100 million doses of its vaccine. The deal gives the federal government the opportunity to order another 200 million cans, according to the announcement.

Gorsky told CNBC that the company’s first priority is to work with the FDA for US approval. He said J&J was “at full speed” making vaccines, adding the company was “extremely confident” of achieving its goal of shipping 100 million doses of its Covid vaccine to the US by the end of June.

“We will keep our commitments while doing everything we can to safely and effectively speed production,” he said, adding that people are “very excited” to get a single shot of the virus.

J&J continues to work on a two-dose coronavirus vaccine, Gorsky said. The company expects two-shot vaccine data from clinical trials in the second half of 2021.