Mylan, Inc.’s (MYL) fourth-quarter 2012 earnings (excluding special items) of 65 cents per share beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by a penny. The earnings beat was primarily attributable to higher revenues. Earnings also increased 23% from the year-ago quarter. On a reported basis (including special items), fourth quarter 2012 earnings surged 30% to 39 cents per share.

Revenues climbed 13% to $1.72 billion. Revenues were marginally short of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.73 billion.

Mylan reports revenues from 2 segments: Generics and Specialty.

Total Generics segment sales increased 9.8% in the fourth quarter of 2012 to $1.57 billion. Generic third-party net sales, derived from sales in North America, Europe, the Middle East & Africa (:EMEA) and Asia-Pacific, climbed 10% to $1.56 billion.

Segmental third-party net sales grew in all the three regions. Third-party net sales in North American markets climbed 10% to $810.9 million in the final quarter of 2012. The increase was mainly attributable to new product launches, which contributed $181 million to the third-party net sales from the region. We note that Mylan launched approximately 600 products across the globe in 2012.

Third-party net sales from the EMEA market improved 6% to $368.3 million. Strong performance in France, Italy and UK due to new product revenue and favorable volume boosted EMEA revenues. Third-party net sales in the region were, however, negatively impacted by foreign currency movements. Third party net sales in the Asia-Pacific market increased 13.9% to $384.8 million on the back of strong sales in the Indian market.

Total Specialty segment sales increased 30.8% to $162 million, while total third-party revenues from the segment jumped 47.4% to $155.1 million. Specialty segment sales were driven by the strong performance of its flagship product – EpiPen auto-injector – for severe allergic reactions.

Adjusted gross margins improved to 49% (from 48%), mainly due to new product launches coupled with increased sales of EpiPen, partially hampered by pricing pressure in the Generic segment.

Research and development (R&D) expenses increased 54.9% to $117.7 million in the final quarter of 2012 due to higher investment in the pipeline. Selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expenses escalated 20.6% to $362.9 million.

Full-year earnings came in at $2.59 per share, a penny above the Zacks Consensus Estimate and 27% above the year-ago earnings. Full-year earnings were towards the higher end of the company’s projected range of $2.50–$2.60 per share. Revenues climbed 11% to $6.8 billion in 2012, in line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate.