Ralph Lauren Drops 6% After Result Falls Short

Ralph Lauren Corp. shares slumped 6% on Wednesday after its fiscal third-quarter profit and sales both fell short of analyst estimates. Profit fell to $215 million, or $2.41 a share, from $237 million, or $2.57, a year earlier. Revenue rose to $2.03 billion from $2.02 billion. The company was expected to earn $2.50 a share on sales of $2.09 billion, according to FactSet. Ralph Lauren forecast fourth-quarter sales, excluding currency translations, to rise at a mid-single-digit rate as a stronger dollar is hurting overseas sales. It also cut its full-year sales outlook to a 4% increase, excluding the negative impact of currency translations. It previously projected a growth rate of 5% to 7%. The company said its board has agreed to increase its quarterly cash dividend by 11% to 50 cents a share.