(Reuters Breakingviews) - Corona Capital is a daily column updated throughout the day by Breakingviews columnists around the world with short, sharp pandemic-related insights.
Bottles of Clorox bleach are displayed for sale on the shelves of a Wal-Mart store in Rogers, Arkansas June 4, 2009. REUTERS/Jessica RinaldiCLEANING ENERGY. Exxon Mobil has a new hot commodity: hand sanitizer. The $200 billion oil giant said it’s reconfiguring manufacturing facilities in Louisiana to produce highly sought after medical-grade alcohol-based liquid cleaner for donation. At one point it was selling for as much as $138 a bottle on eBay, according to The Atlantic.
PACKING ESSENTIALS. Clorox is cleaning up. Sales for the quarter ending March 31 rose an eye-popping 15% year-over-year to nearly $2 billion as people snapped up bleach and Pine-Sol products to disinfect their homes. The last time the company saw such a double-digit boost in revenue was in 2008. But in this downturn, the $23 billion maker of Glad garbage bags, Brita water filters and Hidden Valley Ranch dressing will likely see the sales streak continue.
It’s an about-turn for the 70 billion euro insurer. Allianz had been fairly optimistic in the face of the coronavirus pandemic, standing by its dividend and share buyback scheme. Its shares trade at nearly 10 times forward earnings, compared with less than 7 times for France’s AXA. The dividend is still intact, but the sheen may come off when Baete gives a more detailed outlook for 2020 in less than two weeks. Shares fell 3% on Friday. Germany’s insurance giant may be succumbing to gravity.
Such projections should be taken with an in-flight sachet of salt. Neither airline is offering guidance for this year, let alone the ones after that. The doom and gloom probably has a more immediate function. Spohr is trying to convince Berlin of the need for a 9 billion euro bailout. O’Leary, who likens state aid to “doping”, needs to justify massive job cuts.
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