diff --git a/plyfile.py b/plyfile.py
index 94da066..63ab1c2 100644
--- a/plyfile.py
+++ b/plyfile.py
@@ -1149,6 +1149,8 @@ def consume(self, raw_line):
             self._error("early end-of-file")
 
         line = raw_line.strip()
+        if line == '':
+            return
         try:
             keyword = line.split(None, 1)[0]
         except IndexError: