finsbury food group plc said thursday that sales for the first half of fiscal 2022 rose 89 onyear despite inflationary and supplychain pressure the uk bakery group said that its performance during the six months ended dec 25 was driven by a stable performance in uk retail along with a robust recovery in food service and an increase in its overseas division total sales for the half year were 1665 million pounds 2281 million it added the sales reflect a 44 increase on the first half of fiscal 2020 which was unaffected by the coronavirus pandemic the company said it faced persistent pressure from input cost inflation staff shortages and other supplychain disruptions in the first half but it has successfully mitigated the pressures to date it added the effect of the omicron coronavirus variant remains unpredictable but it expects to navigate any challenging market conditions