Northern Foods suffers after Birds Eye pies axed

Northern Foods said sales were lower after it pulled out of low-margin contracts and reduced promotional spending during the World Cup.

The owner of Fox's biscuits and Goodfella's pizza reported a 1.6 per cent drop in like-for-like sales, although it added that trading was in line with hopes.

The fall in first-quarter revenues was driven by a 25 per cent drop in its frozen division after it axed certain contracts to boost margins and stopped making Birds Eye frozen pies in June of last year.

It hopes to improve the trend in frozen food with its £5m "pizza fairy" advertising campaign to support its Goodfella's pizza brand.