Losses Continue as InVitro Looks for Merger Partner

IRVINE — InVitro International, which makes product safety test kits, posted a $198,000 loss for its fiscal 1998 third quarter and said it could be forced out of business unless it finds a merger partner by the end of the month.

Company officials said they expect existing cash resources to last through the end of September. Beyond that, InVitro would only market products held in inventory. The company is currently negotiating a proposed merger with a business engaged primarily in the development and sale of natural gas resources, but a definitive merger proposal has not been executed. One earlier merger attempt this year was terminated and another was suspended.

The company’s third-quarter loss, equal to 2 cents a share, compares with a loss of $341,000, or 3 cents a share, for the same period last year. Revenue fell to $181,000, from $327,000. The loss for the first three quarters of the fiscal year totaled $1.1 million, or 8 cents a share, compared with a year-earlier loss of $1.3 million, or 11 cents a share. Revenue for the nine-month period declined 26% to $604,000 from $812,000.