Mylan Inc. (MYL) on Thursday raised its earnings outlook for fiscal 2012, citing continued strong operational performance. In addition, the generic drugmaker's board of directors approved the repurchase of up to $500 million of the company's common stock in the open market.
For fiscal 2012, Mylan raised its adjusted earnings outlook to a range of $2.45 to $2.55 per share from the prior range of $2.30 to $2.50 per share.
On average, 22 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expect the company to earn $2.42 per share for the year. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.
The Pennsylvania-based company added that all of its other guidance metrics for the year remain unchanged.
Heather Bresch, CEO of Mylan said, "As we have said previously, we expect 2012 to be the best year to date in Mylan's history. The increase in our guidance is a result of our continued strong operational performance."
Mylan also said its board of directors has approved the repurchase of up to $500 million of its common stock in the open market.
Robert Coury, Mylan executive chairman, said, "Given our current share price and the continued strong performance of our business, we believe that the repurchase represents an appropriate use of our capital and an opportunity to return value to our shareholders, while still maintaining significant financial flexibility for the right strategic opportunities."
In late April, Mylan said its net earnings for the first quarter rose to $129.1 million or $0.30 per share from $104.2 million or $0.23 per share in the year-ago period. Total revenues for the quarter grew 10 percent to $1.59 billion from $1.45 billion in the same period last year.
In Thursday's regular session, MYL is trading at $21.22, up $0.58 or 2.81 percent on a volume of 1.26 million shares.
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