Levi Strauss beat profit forecasts for its third quarter but disappointed on sales. The jeans maker said Wednesday it earned an adjusted 48 cents a share, up from 34 cents a year earlier. Analysts expected 36 cents, Investing.com reported.

Revenue rose 4% to $1.61 billion. That was just under the $1.62 billion analysts expected. Shares closed Wednesday at $19.51, down about 5%, and slipped to $19.21 after hours.

A one-time boost helped the profit number. Levi recorded about $80 million in tariff refunds in the quarter. They added about 11 cents to earnings per share, net of money put back into the business. Without that boost, management said, earnings still grew 9%.

Levi plans to spend about three-quarters of the refund money on marketing, its supply chain and holiday deals. "We are raising our full-year profit guidance and plan to initiate a $100 million accelerated share repurchase program," said Chief Financial Officer Harmit Singh.

The weak spot was Levi's own stores and website in the U.S. and Europe. Chief Executive Michelle Gass said a warm summer hurt store visits in Europe. In the U.S., she said, the back-to-school ads focused on loose jeans while shoppers wanted low-rise styles. "We are increasing investment behind areas of strong consumer demand, particularly low-rise fits," she said.

Other parts did well. Sales to other retailers rose 6%. Asia grew 10%, with China up 13%.

For the full year, Levi now expects adjusted earnings of $1.54 to $1.56 a share. It trimmed its reported sales growth outlook to about 7%, from 7% to 7.5%, because of a stronger dollar. It expects its own stores and website to return to at least mid-single-digit growth in the fourth quarter.

The call was Singh's last. He is leaving after 14 years. John Vandemore, most recently finance chief at Skechers, will be the next CFO.

What we know: Levi beat on profit, missed slightly on sales and raised its profit outlook.
What we don't: Whether U.S. store traffic recovers over the holidays.