diff --git a/tests/testthat/perf_tests/perf_rate.R b/tests/testthat/perf_tests/perf_rate.R
index 8de658c3..90905e12 100644
--- a/tests/testthat/perf_tests/perf_rate.R
+++ b/tests/testthat/perf_tests/perf_rate.R
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@
 .perf.reference <- NULL
 
 .load.pref <- function() {
-    perf.profile = base::Sys.getenv("PERF_PROFILE")
+    perf.profile <- base::Sys.getenv("PERF_PROFILE")
     if (nchar(perf.profile) > 0)
         perf.reference.filename.platform.infix <- base::tolower(perf.profile)
     else