Ralph Lauren Expects Strong Holiday Sales, Lifts Dividend

New York clothing designer Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) raised its quarterly cash dividend by 12.5% to 45 cents a share on Wednesday and said it anticipates strong sales during the key holiday season.

In its most recent quarter, the retailer’s net income of $205 million, or $2.23 a share, was down from a year-earlier profit of $214 million, or $2.29 a share. However, it topped average analyst estimates in a Thomson Reuters poll.

Revenue was up 3% to $1.9 billion, matching the Street’s view.

CEO Ralph Lauren said the results position the company well for the first half of fiscal 2014. The dividend increase comes as the company looks to return more cash to investors.

“I am excited about the growing momentum in our business worldwide and confident in the relevance of our strategies to deliver meaningful shareholder value creation over the long term,” Lauren said.

For the full-year, Ralph Lauren raised its revenue growth outlook to between 5% and 7%, toward the high-end of its previous 4% to 7% range.

Shares of the retailer were up more than 4% in early trade.