Whirlpool Corp.'s (WHR) fourth-quarter profit sank 40% from one-time charges, but income from the company's core appliance business expanded as lower costs and higher prices increased margins.
Whirlpool's results from the quarter topped analysts' expectations and the company's profit forecast for 2013 is higher than analysts' projection. Whirlpool, the world's largest seller of refrigerators, clothes washers and other household appliances, said an improving U.S. housing market and sales growth opportunities in developing overseas markets are providing momentum for a recovery in the long-slumping appliance industry.
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