Whirlpool quarterly profit, sales rise

NEW YORK (Reuters) - No. 1 appliance maker Whirlpool Corp <WHR.N> reported a higher first-quarter profit on cost controls and improving sales in most markets.

The maker of Maytag and KitchenAid appliances said net earnings rose to $169 million, or $2.17 a share, from $164 million, or $2.13 a share, a year earlier.

Excluding items, it earned $2.11 a share.

Sales rose 3 percent to $4.40 billion, well above the analysts' average estimate of $4.26 billion.

(Reporting by Dhanya Skariachan; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)