Siemens healthcare biz spinoff slated for May

Siemens will officially spin off its healthcare business into a separate company as of May 1, according to a report by Reuters. That's earlier than the second half of 2015 timing the company had previously cited.

In December, Siemens reorganized its management and reporting structure to separate out healthcare, which is already reporting separately from the rest of the company. Then in February, the conglomerate said it would lay off almost 8,000 employees--that's on top of an additional 15,000 in layoffs disclosed in 2013.

The healthcare unit has about one-quarter of Siemens' employees, or around 11,000 people.

The Siemens healthcare business isn't slated for an IPO, reportedly. Still, Siemens may not retain 100% ownership of it, Reuters said. Shares in the healthcare business could be used to make acquisitions.

Siemens, one of the biggest medical imaging players, aims to cut €1 billion ($1.14 billion) in costs by the end of 2016.

Revenues at Siemens Healthcare were up 6% to almost €2.9 billion ($3.32 billion) in the first quarter of fiscal 2015, but profit declined 13% to €413 million ($472 million). Profit margins for the unit fell from 17.6% to 14.5%.

- here is the Reuters story