Whirlpool 2012 Annual Report Download - page 32

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FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides a safe harbor for forward-
looking statements made by us or on our behalf. Certain statements contained in this
annual report, including those within the forward-looking perspective section within
the Management’s Discussion and Analysis, and other written and oral statements
made from time to time by us or on our behalf do not relate strictly to historical or
current facts and may contain forward-looking statements that reflect our current
views with respect to future events and financial performance. As such, they are
considered “forward-looking statements” which provide current expectations or
forecasts of future events. Such statements can be identified by the use of terminol-
ogy such as “may,” “could,” “will,” “should,” “possible,” “plan,” “predict,” “forecast,”
“potential,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “expect,” “project,” “intend,” “believe,” “may
impact,” “on track,” and similar words or expressions. Our forward-looking state-
ments generally relate to our growth strategies, financial results, product develop-
ment, and sales efforts. These forward-looking statements should be considered
with the understanding that such statements involve a variety of risks and uncer-
tainties, known and unknown, and may be affected by inaccurate assumptions.
Consequently, no forward-looking statement can be guaranteed and actual results
may vary materially.
This document contains forward-looking statements about Whirlpool Corporation
and its consolidated subsidiaries (“Whirlpool”) that speak only as of this date.
Whirlpool disclaims any obligation to update these statements. Forward-looking
statements in this document may include, but are not limited to, statements regarding
expected earnings per share, cash flow, productivity and material and oil-related
prices. Many risks, contingencies and uncertainties could cause actual results to
differ materially from Whirlpool’s forward-looking statements. Among these factors
are: (1) intense competition in the home appliance industry reflecting the impact
of both new and established global competitors, including Asian and European
manufacturers; (2) Whirlpool’s ability to continue its relationship with significant
trade customers and the ability of these trade customers to maintain or increase
market share; (3) changes in economic conditions which affect demand for our prod-
ucts, including the strength of the building industry and the level of interest rates;
(4) inventory and other asset risk; (5) risks related to our international operations,
including changes in foreign regulations, regulatory compliance and disruptions
arising from natural disasters or terrorist attacks; (6) the uncertain global economy;
(7) the ability of Whirlpool to achieve its business plans, productivity improvements,
cost control, price increases, leveraging of its global operating platform, and accel-
eration of the rate of innovation; (8) Whirlpool’s ability to maintain its reputation and
brand image; (9) fluctuations in the cost of key materials (including steel, oil, plastic,
resins, copper and aluminum) and components and the ability of Whirlpool to offset
cost increases; (10) litigation, tax, and legal compliance risk and costs, especially
costs which may be materially different from the amount we expect to incur or have
accrued for; (11) product liability and product recall costs; (12) the effects and costs
of governmental investigations or related actions by third parties; (13) Whirlpool’s
ability to obtain and protect intellectual property rights; (14) the ability of suppliers of
critical parts, components and manufacturing equipment to deliver sufficient quanti-
ties to Whirlpool in a timely and cost-effective manner; (15) health care cost trends,
regulatory changes and variations between results and estimates that could increase
future funding obligations for pension and postretirement benefit plans; (16) infor-
mation technology system failures and data security breaches; (17) the impact of
labor relations; (18) our ability to attract, develop and retain executives and other
qualified employees; (19) changes in the legal and regulatory environment including
environmental and health and safety regulations; and (20) the ability of Whirlpool to
manage foreign currency fluctuations.
We undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statement, and investors
are advised to review disclosures in our filings with the Securities and Exchange
Commission. It is not possible to foresee or identify all factors that could cause
actual results to differ from expected or historic results. Therefore, investors should
not consider the foregoing factors to be an exhaustive statement of all risks, uncer-
tainties, or factors that could potentially cause actual results to differ from forward-
looking statements.
Additional information concerning these and other factors can be found in Whirlpool
Corporation’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the
most recent annual report on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and current
reports on Form 8-K.