"This is a very serious, severe economic environment," Jeff M. Fettig, Whirlpool's chairman and chief executive, said during a teleconference with industry analysts. "We're aggressively trying to manage every part of our business."

The company expects industrywide demand in the United States to finish the year down 6 percent to 7 percent and down 2 percent to 3 percent in Europe.

The news didn't hurt the company's stock value as shares jumped more than 7 percent.

Whirlpool reported its profit for the three-month period ended June 30 was $117 million, or $1.53 per share, compared with $161 million, or $2 per share, during the same period last year.

Revenue of $5.1 billion for the quarter was up 5 percent from the $4.9 billion reported by the Benton Harbor, Mich.-based company in the second quarter of 2007.

Whirlpool's performance beat Wall Street's expectations, with Thomson Financial saying analysts it surveyed expected earnings of $1.37 per share on sales of $5.03 billion.

Whirlpool shares rose $5.40, or 7.9 percent, to $73.55 on Wednesday afternoon.

For all of 2008, the company said it continues to expect earnings per share to fall within a range of $7 to $7.50.

Whirlpool North America had second-quarter sales of $2.9 billion, down 4 percent from last year. U.S. industry unit shipments of major appliances fell approximately 8 percent.

The division includes the United States, Canada, Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean and countries in the north of South America, excluding Brazil.

Higher costs were partly offset by productivity initiatives and improved results within Whirlpool Latin America, the company's operations in Brazil and the southern part of South America. Sales during the quarter increased 22 percent to $1 billion.

Fettig said the company expects to pay $600 million to $650 million more for oil-related costs and raw materials such as steel during 2008, up from its estimate three months ago of $450 million to $500 million.

"That's not unexpected," Champine said. "We've all seen the prices of those commodities skyrocket, but it's just a sign of how tough things are out there."

She said that beating the analysts' consensus by 16 cents per share, plus higher sales, had helped boost the company's shares.

To help offset expenses, Whirlpool raised its prices 6 percent to 10 percent on "selected models" at the end of the second quarter.

Mike Todman, president, Whirlpool North America, called the price increases "critical."

During the first half of the year, Whirlpool made a profit of $211 million, or $2.74 per share, down 24 percent from $278 million, or $3.46 per share.

The company's brands include Whirlpool, Maytag, Amana, KitchenAid and Jenn-Air.

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On the Net:

Whirlpool Corp.: http://www.whirlpool.com

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