As a result of a plea agreement entered into by Embraco North America, Inc., an indirect subsidiary of Whirlpool's compressor business headquartered in Brazil, Whirlpool Corp. 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.

Whirlpool Corp. 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.

For more on the Embraco plea agreement, see the October 4, 2010 news item, Embraco and Panasonic In Plea Agreements Over Compressor Price Fixing Claims.