diff --git a/src/Counters.cpp b/src/Counters.cpp
index 6f04105227..114b18020b 100644
--- a/src/Counters.cpp
+++ b/src/Counters.cpp
@@ -631,7 +631,7 @@ docstring Counters::formattedCounter(docstring const & name,
 	Counter const & ctr = it->second;
 
 	docstring const value = theCounter(name, lang);
-	docstring const & format =
+	docstring const format =
 		translateIfPossible(counterLabel(ctr.refFormat(prex), lang), lang);
 	if (format.empty())
 		return value;