Ralph Lauren Corp. is still successfully pushing higher.

The company, which under president and chief executive officer Patrice Louvet has been steadily elevating the brand, blew past fiscal third-quarter earnings projections and raised its outlook for the year — although Wall Street still wanted a little more. 

Net income rose 21.6 percent to $361.6 million, with adjusted earnings per share rising to $6.22 — 42 cents ahead of the $5.81 analysts projected, according to Yahoo Finance. Adjusted operating margins rose 220 basis points to 20.9 percent of sales. And net sales rose 12 percent to $2.4 billion, which translated into a 10 percent gain in constant currencies. 

But investor expectations were high and shares of the company slipped 7 percent to $330 in premarket trading.

Patrice Louvet, president and chief executive officer, shrugged that off in an interview with WWD and said the company is keeping focused on the long term.

Louvet’s years-long effort to tighten operations, rev up marketing and lean into premium pushed average unit retail prices up 18 percent in the quarter. 

“All the [consumer] recruiting work that we’ve done over the past few years proved to be resilient even in this volatile environment,” the CEO said. “They actually showed up early in the season and so we saw outsized full-price demand early in the season, which allowed us to pull back further than we had expected on promotional activity, which explains the very high AUR [average unit retail] number.”

In North America, revenue increased 8 percent to $1.1 billion, with comparable store sales up 7 percent. In Europe, revenues were up 12 percent to $676 million, 4 percent on a constant currency basis, and the top line in Asia expanded by 22 percent to $620 million.  

For the full fiscal year, Ralph Lauren now expects to post a revenue gain in the high-single to low-double digits on a constant currency basis, up from the prior outlook calling for a 5 percent to 7 percent bump.

Operating margins are expected to expand by 100 to 140 basis points, up from the prior forecast of 60 to 80 basis points.

“Our holiday collection was inspired by the rugged landscapes of the American West, which have long been both a place of refuge and inspiration for me,” said Ralph Lauren, executive chairman and chief creative officer. “They reflect connections to the land, to family, and to each other — and as we start a new year with renewed optimism, they are a fitting reminder to dream big and find the space to become who you are.”