--Mylan generics sales rose 4.6%

--Recent acquisitions boost Mylan's product launches to 60 a year from 12

--Mylan sees 2012 adjusted EPS between $2.30 and $2.50, revenue between $6.8 billion and $7.2 billion

(Updates to include 2012 guidance in the ninth paragraph and updates with closing share price)

 
   DOW JONES NEWSWIRES

Mylan Inc.'s (MYL) fourth-quarter earnings soared from a year-earlier period that was hit by litigation and other items as the pharmaceutical company's margins also improved.

Mylan--the world's third-largest generic-drug maker by sales after Novartis AG's (NVS, NOVN.VX) generic arm Sandoz and Teva Pharmaceuticals Industries Ltd. (TEVA, TEVA.TV)--has seen its revenue jump in recent quarters as concerns about the economy spurred interest in lower-cost health options. But the company's bottom line has been hampered by litigation and acquisition-related costs of late.

Mylan reported a quarterly profit of $129.5 million, or 30 cents a share, up from $2.59 million, or one cent a share, in the same period a year earlier. Excluding items such as amortization, litigation settlements and restructuring costs, per-share earnings rose to 53 cents from 45 cents. Revenue jumped 6.7% to $1.53 billion.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had most recently forecast earnings of 50 cents a share on revenue of $1.56 billion.

Gross margin rose to 42.1% from 40.4%.

Sales of generics, which brings in most of the company's revenue, jumped 4.6%, reflecting a 14% rise in North America and an 11% increase in the Asia Pacific region.

"We ended the year very strong," Chief Executive Heather Bresch said in an interview. She said the results reflected Mylan's taking advantage of recent acquisitions, such as the generic business of Merck KGaA (MKGAY) and Matrix Laboratories in India, allowing it to launch 60 products a year, up from 12 a year before the purchases.

Bresch said Mylan is on the lookout for other acquisitions, while looking forward to other catalysts, such as its development of a generic version of asthma and COPD treatment Advair.

For the year, Mylan sees adjusted per-share earnings between $2.30 and $2.50 and revenue between $6.8 billion and $7.2 billion, bracketing the $2.40 and $6.87 billion estimates from analysts. Mylan said it is planning to post adjusted per-share earnings of $6 in 2018.

Shares closed at $22.70 Tuesday and were unchanged after hours. The stock is 11% off of its 52-week high of $25.46 set last April.

-By Melodie Warner, Jonathan Rockoff and Nathalie Tadena,

Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2283;

melodie.warner@dowjones.com