Northern Foods underlying sales up 3.5 percent

LONDON (Reuters) - Food manufacturer Northern Foods (NFDS.L) said on Monday that underlying sales increased by 3.5 percent in the first quarter of its financial year, in line with the trend of the year before.

The maker of Goodfella's pizza and Fox's biscuits said it anticipates full-year commodity costs to increase by about 20 million pounds, together with a 12 million pounds increase in utility costs.

(Reporting by Matthew Scuffham; Editing by David Holmes)