Whirlpool Corp , the world's biggest appliance maker, reported a lower quarterly profit on Monday as sales fell in the global slowdown.

The maker of Maytag and KitchenAid appliances reported first-quarter earnings of $68 million, or 91 cents a share, compared with $94 million, or $1.22 a share, a year earlier.

Sales fell 23 percent to $3.6 billion.

The Benton Harbor, Michigan-based company has seen its sales crumble in the global slowdown and had warned earlier in the year that profits would continue to fall in 2009.

Whirlpool, which has been in talks with banks about renewing credit lines, has frozen salaries, reduced its contribution to retirement plans and taken other steps to cut costs.

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

Michigan