Whirlpool Corp. (WHR) reported third-quarter earnings of $1.02 per diluted share, down from $1.15 per diluted share a year.

On an adjusted basis, earnings per share were $2.22 in the third quarter, compared with $1.67 a year earlier, the company said in a statement.

Sales rose 0.5% from a year earlier to $4.5 billion. Whirlpool saw sales rise 13% in Latin America and drop 8% in Europe.

"As expected, we faced a challenging environment during the quarter which resulted in a significant slowing in sales growth compared to the first half of the year," said Jeff M. Fettig, CEO of Whirlpool.

Whirlpool forecast 2010 earnings of $7.80 to $8.30. On an adjusted basis, the company expects earnings of $9.56 to $10.06 per share.

"As we have previously noted, we continue to see a volatile and rapidly changing global economy, which we expect to continue in the near term," Fettig said.