diff --git a/lib/hostip.c b/lib/hostip.c
index c1f3fde11..5a4a0eb77 100644
--- a/lib/hostip.c
+++ b/lib/hostip.c
@@ -123,7 +123,6 @@ struct hostent *Curl_gethost(struct UrlData *data,
   int ret; /* this variable is unused on several platforms but used on some */
 
 #define CURL_NAMELOOKUP_SIZE 9000
-
   /* Allocate enough memory to hold the full name information structs and
    * everything. OSF1 is known to require at least 8872 bytes. The buffer
    * required for storing all possible aliases and IP numbers is according to
@@ -133,6 +132,8 @@ struct hostent *Curl_gethost(struct UrlData *data,
     return NULL; /* major failure */
   *bufp = buf;
 
+  ret = 0; /* to prevent the compiler warning */
+
   if ( (in=inet_addr(hostname)) != INADDR_NONE ) {
     struct in_addr *addrentry;