Asda's first quarter sales rise 1.3 percent

Asda, the British arm of United States retailer Wal-Mart , said underlying sales rose 1.3 percent in its first quarter.

Britain's second-biggest supermarket chain behind Tesco said on Thursday sales at shops open over a year, excluding fuel, rose 1.3 percent in the 14 weeks to April 12.

That followed a rise of 0.1 percent in the fourth quarter of the previous financial year.

(Reporting by James Davey and Neil Maidment; Editing by Rhys Jones)