ASOS chief sees small upgrade to profit forecast

LONDON (Reuters) - Nick Robertson, the chief executive of online fashion retailer ASOS (ASOS.L), said on Monday he expected a small rise in analysts' consensus profit forecasts for 2008-9 following strong 2007-8 results.

"I think there will be small upgrades," Robertson told Reuters in a telephone interview, adding the current consensus profit forecast for 2008-9 was about 12 million pounds.

"We're trading ahead of where we were this time last year. Our issue is that we've still three quarters of the year to go and that includes Christmas...obviously after Christmas we're in a much better shape to give a sense as to what the full-year outcome will be," he said.

Robertson also said that ASOS expected capital spending to rise to around 7.5 million pounds in the year ending March 31, 2009, up from 4.5 million in the year just ended, as it upgrades its warehouses and back office systems.

(Reporting by Mark Potter; Editing by Louise Ireland)