Restructuring Charge Taken by Nichols Institute

Nichols Institute, which provides clinical testing services to medical and pharmaceutical companies, said it is taking a one-time, pretax charge of $3.8 million against fourth-quarter earnings because of a restructuring of its laboratory operations in Texas.

As a result, the San Juan Capistrano company expects to report a loss of about $2.1 million, or about 14 cents a share, for the quarter ended Dec. 31, 1991.

Nichols reported earnings of $1.26 million, or 9 cents, for the 1990 fourth quarter. The company said quarterly revenue reached $64.57 million, up 42% from $45.48 million for the corresponding period in 1990.