Applied Biosystems Inc. said Wednesday that it will take $22 million in write-offsagainst results in the just finished fourth quarter, largely reflecting goodwill and otherintangible assets that are of little or no continuing value to the company.

ABI of Foster City, Calif., expects to report a 15 percent rise in sales for thequarter ended July 3, up from the $40.7 million in sales reported for the comparablethree-month period a year ago, the company said. “We’re especially encouraged byour growth in order backlog and increasing market share in most product lines,“ saidAndre Marion, ABI’s president and chief executive officer.

The reductions covered by the fourth-quarter charges will reduce ABI’s annualoperating expenses in future years by $5 million, Marion said. ABI reported $680,000 infourth-quarter profits a year ago.

Most of the $22 million in fourth-quarter charges are associated with ABI’s Kratosoperations, which it acquired in 1986 for $23 million, and Bio-Ion Nordic AB, which itpurchased for $2.5 million in 1989. A small portion of the total charges is a reserve setup to cover the expected costs of shutting down an operation in Sweden that is involved inmass spectometry.