* Supervisory board meets Wednesday ahead of results
* Also expected to decide on sale of hearing aids to EQS
* Shares up 0.8 percent (Adds background, shares)
By Jens Hack and Georgina Prodhan
FRANKFURT, Nov 4 (Reuters) - German engineering groupSiemens will take a first major step on Wednesday toseparate its 14 billion-euro ($18 billion) healthcare unit fromthe rest of the company, two sources with knowledge of thematter said on Tuesday.
Siemens fears large investments will be needed in thehigh-margin business as new diagnostic methods and new rivalssuch as Samsung heighten competition withtraditional rivals like General Electric and Philips.
Siemens' supervisory board will decide on Wednesday on thecreation of new healthcare country units, including in Germany,capable of holding licences for products such as imagingequipment independently of Siemens AG, said one of the sources.
This would enable the subsequent legal separation of thehealthcare division as a whole from the rest of the company.
The Munich-based company declined to comment.
Shares in Siemens turned positive on the news and weretrading up 0.8 percent at 89.75 euros by 1119 GMT.
Siemens, once a conglomerate that made everything frommobile phones to lightbulbs to steam turbines, has been sheddingits consumer businesses over the past several years to focus onindustrial electrification, automation and digitalisation.
It has sold some businesses in the past, including SiemensMobile and its stake in Fujitsu-Siemens computers. Mostrecently, it spun off lighting company Osram toexisting shareholders.
Siemens' healthcare division, which makes equipment formedical imaging, in-vitro diagnostics and clinical IT systems,accounted for 18 percent of 2013 sales. It had a core profitmargin of 20 percent, the highest of Siemens' four divisions.
The division also includes hearing aids, whose 2billion-euro sale to private equity firm EQT is alsoexpected to be agreed by he supervisory board on Wednesday.
(Reporting by Georgina Prodhan; Editing by ChristophSteitz/Keith Weir)
* Also expected to decide on sale of hearing aids to EQS
* Shares up 0.8 percent (Adds background, shares)
By Jens Hack and Georgina Prodhan
FRANKFURT, Nov 4 (Reuters) - German engineering groupSiemens will take a first major step on Wednesday toseparate its 14 billion-euro ($18 billion) healthcare unit fromthe rest of the company, two sources with knowledge of thematter said on Tuesday.
Siemens fears large investments will be needed in thehigh-margin business as new diagnostic methods and new rivalssuch as Samsung heighten competition withtraditional rivals like General Electric and Philips.
Siemens' supervisory board will decide on Wednesday on thecreation of new healthcare country units, including in Germany,capable of holding licences for products such as imagingequipment independently of Siemens AG, said one of the sources.
This would enable the subsequent legal separation of thehealthcare division as a whole from the rest of the company.
The Munich-based company declined to comment.
Shares in Siemens turned positive on the news and weretrading up 0.8 percent at 89.75 euros by 1119 GMT.
Siemens, once a conglomerate that made everything frommobile phones to lightbulbs to steam turbines, has been sheddingits consumer businesses over the past several years to focus onindustrial electrification, automation and digitalisation.
It has sold some businesses in the past, including SiemensMobile and its stake in Fujitsu-Siemens computers. Mostrecently, it spun off lighting company Osram toexisting shareholders.
Siemens' healthcare division, which makes equipment formedical imaging, in-vitro diagnostics and clinical IT systems,accounted for 18 percent of 2013 sales. It had a core profitmargin of 20 percent, the highest of Siemens' four divisions.
The division also includes hearing aids, whose 2billion-euro sale to private equity firm EQT is alsoexpected to be agreed by he supervisory board on Wednesday.
(Reporting by Georgina Prodhan; Editing by ChristophSteitz/Keith Weir)
via Smart Health Shop Forum http://ift.tt/1x6WkeQ
No comments:
Post a Comment