diff --git a/src/box/lua/console.lua b/src/box/lua/console.lua
index 3bf6fe9f4af47bd1255a5970b98797583d92d5c2..6a0133648013b63ee15dd33bbc9d01c9b2679d0c 100644
--- a/src/box/lua/console.lua
+++ b/src/box/lua/console.lua
@@ -198,11 +198,10 @@ end
 -- Map output format descriptor into a "\set" command.
 local function output_to_cmd_string(desc)
     if desc["opts"] then
-        string.format("\\set output %s,%s", desc["fmt"], desc["opts"])
+        return string.format("\\set output %s,%s", desc["fmt"], desc["opts"])
     else
-        string.format("\\set output %s", desc["fmt"])
+        return string.format("\\set output %s", desc["fmt"])
     end
-    return cmd
 end
 
 local function format(status, ...)