UPDATE 1-Australia's Goodman Fielder sees flat 2009 earnings

(Adds company comment, share price)

MELBOURNE, Aug 25 (Reuters) - Australasian food group Goodman Fielder Ltd (GFF.AX) (GFF.NZ) sees little change in underlying earnings this year amid high wheat, dairy and food oil prices and softer economic growth.

Goodman Fielder, whose brands include Helga's bread, Meadow Lea margarine and Pampas pastry, also said on Monday substantial rises in commodity costs hit its profit margins in the year to June 30, adding A$204 million ($177 million) to costs.

Normalised net profit before one offs was A$220.7 million in the year, up 0.9 percent from A$218.7 million a year ago. The result beat forecasts for A$206.0 million in a Reuters Estimates survey.

Goodman Fielder's shares initially rose as much as 4.3 percent after the results, but were down 2.3 percent at A$1.48 at 0051 GMT.

"The company sees little improvement in the underlying earnings in fiscal 2009 due to uncertainty around commodity costs and future economic conditions in Australia and New Zealand," Goodman Fielder said.

In the second half, higher crude oil prices added A$30 million to logistics costs. A rapid deterioration in the New Zealand economy and currency also hurt earnings.

"The company is more optimistic for the fiscal 2010 year and expects to see the benefits flow through from significant capital expenditure and resulting efficiency gains, combined with softening commodity prices," it said.

Earlier this month the group announced a one-off writedown of A$170 million for its dairy division in New Zealand because of a deteriorating economy.

During the year the company said it had started sourcing locally in China with the signing of a contract with a Chinese company to manufacture commercial fats and oils at a plant in the Shanghai region.

Goodman Fielder declared a dividend of 7.5 cents a share, unchanged from last year. ($1=A$1.15) (Reporting by Miranda Maxwell)