diff --git a/src/service.c b/src/service.c
index 85175793428..017b546d8cc 100644
--- a/src/service.c
+++ b/src/service.c
@@ -345,9 +345,7 @@ static int sysv_translate_facility(const char *name, const char *filename, char
                 return -ENOMEM;
 
 finish:
-
-        if (_r)
-                *_r = r;
+        *_r = r;
 
         return 1;
 }