diff --git a/setup.py b/setup.py
index ebafbb66e20d6fcbccf145cdb12776f5c85acf18..09144c0b67c4341ca4c0173ab1127493246f93c1 100755
--- a/setup.py
+++ b/setup.py
@@ -50,7 +50,10 @@ MINOR = 2
 MICRO = 4
 PRE = ""  # e.g. rc0, alpha.1, 0.beta-23
 ISRELEASED = True
-VERSION = "{}.{}.{}{}".format(MAJOR, MINOR, MICRO, PRE)
+if PRE:
+    VERSION = "{}.{}.{}-{}".format(MAJOR, MINOR, MICRO, PRE)
+else:
+    VERSION = "{}.{}.{}".format(MAJOR, MINOR, MICRO)
 
 
 # Return the git revision as a string