Whirpool Adjusts Guidance On Fine (WHR)

As a result of a plea agreement entered into by Embraco North America, Inc., an indirect subsidiary of Whirlpool's WHR compressor business headquartered in Brazil, Whirlpool Corporation will record an expense of $91.8 million, or approximately $1.20 per diluted share, during the third quarter of 2010. Including this expense, the company now expects to report GAAP earnings of $7.80 to $8.30 per diluted share compared with its previous outlook of $9.00 to $9.50 per diluted share. On an adjusted basis, the company's full-year outlook of $9.56 to $10.06 per diluted share is unchanged.(1) Whirlpool Corporation is scheduled to release its earnings results for the third quarter of 2010 on Wednesday, October 27, 2010 and will review its 2010 business outlook at that time. The plea agreement announced today by Embraco relates to the U.S. government's antitrust investigation of the compressor industry. Pursuant to the agreement, Embraco agreed to pay $91.8 million in six annual installments, with the first payment expected to be made in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2010. The agreement is subject to court approval. A reconciliation of adjusted diluted earnings per share, a non-GAAP financial measure to diluted earnings per share and other important information,appears on page 3-4. Adjusted Diluted Earnings Per Share (2010 Outlook) The reconciliation provided below reconciles projected 2010 adjusted diluted earnings per share with projected 2010 diluted earnings per share available to Whirlpool common stockholders, the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure: 2010 Outlook Diluted earnings per share $7.80 – 8.30 Brazilian Collection Dispute Accrual (a) 0.45 Product Recall (b) 0.61 OPEB Curtailment Gain (c) (0.50) Subsidiary Plea Agreement (d) ~1.20 Adjusted Non-GAAP measure $9.56 – 10.06 (a) During the June 2010 quarter, we recognized an expense of $53 million related to a previously disclosed legal action pertaining to a Brazilian collection dispute. The diluted earnings per share impact is calculated based on an income tax impact of approximately $18 million. (b) During the March 2010 quarter, we accrued $75 million to cover the estimated product recall costs of the action to address a supplier-related quality issue. The diluted earnings per share impact is calculated based on an income tax impact of approximately $28 million. (c) During the March 2010 quarter and June 2010 quarter we recognized curtailment gains of $62 million related to a retiree healthcare plan. The diluted earnings per share impact is calculated based on an income tax impact of approximately $23 million. (d) During the September 2010 quarter, we expect to record a $92 million accrual related to a subsidiary antitrust plea agreement with the U.S. government. The diluted earnings per share impact is calculated based on an associated income tax impact of $0 due to the non-deductibility of the expense for income tax purposes. See Some of the Top Moving Indexes Here.