ORANGE COUNTY EARNINGS

Beckman Coulter Inc.: The Fullerton provider of instrument systems and products for laboratory use said it earned $17.1 million, or 58 cents a share, in the first quarter, compared with a net loss of $8.4 million, or 30 cents a share, for the same period last year. The 1998 results were affected by costs associated with the acquisition of Coulter Corp. Sales were up 1% to $405.1 million from $399.4 million.