Myriad Genetics swings to Q4 profit on license payment

(Reuters) - Myriad Genetics Inc (MYGN.O) swung to a quarterly net profit, helped by a one-time upfront license payment, and added that it is considering strategic options, including a possible separation of its molecular diagnostic business from pharmaceutical business.

The biotechnology company said it has engaged JP Morgan to assist its board in evaluating the various alternatives.

Myriad posted a net income of $65.5 million, or $1.40 per share for the fourth quarter ended June 30, compared with a net loss of $7.8 million, or 18 cent a share, a year earlier.

Total revenue more than tripled to $166.9 million, boosted partly by the one-time upfront license payment of $100 million from Denmark's Lundbeck (LUN.CO) for European marketing rights to Flurizan, a treatment for Alzheimer's disease.

Revenue was also helped by a 53 percent jump in molecular diagnostic revenue to $64.7 million.

However, revenue growth was dragged by a more than two-fold rise in research and development expenses to $55.2 million, which includes a one-time license fee expense of $20 million reflecting the maximum amount payable by Myriad under the license agreements for Flurizan.

R&D expenses also reflect a one-time cost of $3 million for the termination of the Flurizan program, Myriad said.

Excluding certain items, analysts on average expected the company to post a loss of 2 cents a share, according to Reuters Estimates.

Myriad shares closed at $65.45 Monday on Nasdaq.

(Reporting by Anuradha Ramanathan in Bangalore; Editing by Himani Sarkar)