diff --git a/drivers/net/ethernet/ibm/emac/core.c b/drivers/net/ethernet/ibm/emac/core.c
index b7fc17756c514..06248a7db7f26 100644
--- a/drivers/net/ethernet/ibm/emac/core.c
+++ b/drivers/net/ethernet/ibm/emac/core.c
@@ -872,7 +872,7 @@ static void __emac_mdio_write(struct emac_instance *dev, u8 id, u8 reg,
 {
 	struct emac_regs __iomem *p = dev->emacp;
 	u32 r = 0;
-	int n, err = -ETIMEDOUT;
+	int n;
 
 	mutex_lock(&dev->mdio_lock);
 
@@ -919,7 +919,6 @@ static void __emac_mdio_write(struct emac_instance *dev, u8 id, u8 reg,
 			goto bail;
 		}
 	}
-	err = 0;
  bail:
 	if (emac_has_feature(dev, EMAC_FTR_HAS_RGMII))
 		rgmii_put_mdio(dev->rgmii_dev, dev->rgmii_port);