Hycor Biomedical Inc.: The Irvine developer of...

Hycor Biomedical Inc.: The Irvine developer of medical diagnostic products posted a loss of $445,000, or 6 cents a share, compared with a profit of $1,000 for the fourth quarter in 1996. Sales climbed 6% to $5.2 million from $4.9 million. For the year, the company reported a loss of $4.3 million, or 59 cents a share, including $3.3 million in costs related to the acquisition of Cogent Diagnostics Ltd. in July. Hycor earned $17,000 the previous year. Sales dipped to $19.3 million from $20.1 million.