Siemens infrastructure unit revamp not a priority: CEO

German industrial conglomerate Siemens has no plan for now to dismantle its Infrastructure & Cities division, its new chief executive said in a company newsletter, brushing off a recent press report.

"I have already made it clear, numerous times, that changing the IC Sector structure is not a priority for me," Joe Kaeser said in a newsletter distributed on Thursday.

Germany's Manager Magazin reported earlier this month that Siemens planned to dismantle Infrastructure & Cities and was reviewing other activities.

The division was set up by Kaeser's predecessor Peter Loescher in 2011, grouping businesses making products ranging from security systems to high-speed trains and power distribution systems.

It generates annual revenue of about 17.6 billion euros ($24.2 billion) but has been dogged by weak profitability.

"We don't want to, and we won't, simply give up on businesses just because they are not performing well. We ourselves have to get things in order again," Kaeser said in the newsletter.

"And where it doesn't make sense for reasons of prioritization, we cannot wait so long that we destroy value and that all involved must suffer through long lean periods."

Kaeser, a 33-year company veteran, was named as CEO at the end of July after Siemens dumped Loescher four years before the end of his contract following a series of profit warnings.

Kaeser now faces the task of overseeing a massive 6 billion euro savings program launched by Loescher in an attempt to close a gap with more profitable rivals such as Switzerland's ABB and U.S.-based General Electric .

($1 = 0.7262 euros)

(Reporting by Maria Sheahan; editing by Peter Dinkloh and Tom Pfeiffer)