DOW JONES NEWSWIRES 
 

Cardinal Health Inc. (CAH) boosted its quarterly dividend 25% ahead of its impending spinoff as the company's net income fell 12% on costs related to the planned spinoff of its clinical and medical-products businesses.

The announcement comes ahead of Cardinal Health's annual investor conference, at which the company said it will outline a goal for future dividend increases to exceed earnings growth after the spinoff of CareFusion.

The spinoff of the faster-growing unit and a generator of higher margins than Cardinal Health's much larger, core drug-distribution business - slated to take place later this year - is expected to produce savings of up to $130 million in two years.

But hospital-spending delays prompted the medical-goods supplier to announce in March another round of job cuts and cost-control measures. CareFusion plans to eliminate 1,300 jobs, or nearly 8% of its work force.

Cardinal Health shares closed Monday at $35.56 and were inactive premarket.

-By Kevin Kingsbury, Dow Jones Newswires; 201-938-2136; kevin.kingsbury@dowjones.com