Mylan 1Q profit surges on acquisitions, tops forecasts

Mylan Inc. reported a surge in first-quarter profit as acquisitions helped boost revenue and offset declining sales of its EpiPen allergy treatment.

The generic drug developer reported a four-fold jump in profit to $66.4 million, or 12 cents per share, as revenue rose 24 percent to $2.72 billion.

Earnings, adjusted for one-time gains and costs, were 93 cents per share, which topped Wall Street expectations by a penny, according to Zacks Investment Research.

The bulk of the revenue increase came from sales of products acquired with Meda AB and the topicals focused business of Renaissance Acquisition Holdings. Overall, those acquisitions contributed $606.6 million in sales.

The revenue boost helped offset a decline in sales of the company's EpiPen Auto-Injector, whose sales have suffered since Mylan began selling a lower-priced generic version.

EpiPens are used in emergencies to stop anaphylaxis, the potentially fatal allergic reactions to insect bites and stings and foods like nuts and eggs. People usually keep multiple EpiPens handy at home, school or work. But the syringes, prefilled with the hormone epinephrine, expire after a year.

The Britain-based company released a generic version of the emergency allergy treatment at half the price of the branded option after the cost drew scorn from parents nationwide and spawned Congressional inquiries.

Mylan shares have declined slightly since the beginning of the year, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index has climbed 7 percent. The stock has decreased almost 7 percent in the last 12 months.

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Elements of this story were generated by Automated Insights using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on MYL at https://www.zacks.com/ap/MYL

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Keywords: Mylan, Earnings Report