Whirlpool Subsidiary To Pay Antitrust Settlement; Earnings Hurt

Benton Harbor-based Whirlpool Corp. said Thursday that Embraco North America Inc., an indirect subsidiary of Whirlpool's Brazil-based compressor business, will pay $91.8 million over the next six years to settle a federal antitrust investigation of the compressor industry.

The payment works out to an expense of $1.20 a share for Whirlpool. As a result, Whirlpool said it now expects to report net income of $7.80 to $8.30 a share for 2010, down from its previous outlook of $9 to $9.50 a share.

Whirlpool is scheduled to release its earnings results for the third quarter of 2010 on Wednesday, Oct. 27 and will review its 2010 business outlook at that time. 

Whirlpool is the world's leading manufacturer and marketer of major home appliances, with annual sales of approximately $17 billion in 2009, 67,000 employees, and 67 manufacturing and technology research centers around the world. The company markets Whirlpool, Maytag, KitchenAid, Jenn-Air, Amana, Brastemp, Consul, Bauknecht and other major brand names to consumers in nearly every country around the world.

More at www.whirlpoolcorp.com.

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