BG Group plc today announced a strong set of results for the Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2000.

Total operating profit* rose by 22 per cent to £181 million in the fourth quarter, and by 108 per cent to £688 million for the full year. Underlying performance has improved significantly as, excluding the impact of higher oil and gas prices, operating profit* rose by 59 per cent for the full year.

Earnings per share* rose by 28 per cent to 3.2 pence in the fourth quarter, and by 184 per cent to 12.2 pence for the full year.

BG Group Chairman Richard Giordano said: "We have delivered a strong set of results for the Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2000. Excellent profit growth has been achieved in all key business segments, providing a solid foundation for the future."

BG Group Chief Executive Frank Chapman said: "These results show we are making excellent progress towards the targets which BG Group set out in the run-up to the demerger last autumn. We are demonstrating our capability and our commitment to delivering a string of new projects which will drive our growth."

Highlights of the results include a 100 per cent success rate achieved on an extensive programme of exploration and appraisal wells completed during 2000, identifying significant new reserves in Kazakhstan, Bolivia, the UK, Egypt and the Eastern Mediterranean.

These include the major Kashagan field in the Caspian Sea, and reserves in Bolivia that could provide the source of important new gas exports.

Projects delivered included first gas from the Rosetta field, offshore Egypt, and the second phase of the Seabank power station, near Bristol, UK. In Trinidad, the government gave the go-ahead to the development of BG-operated fields off the north coast, opening up a new gas province.

(*Continuing operations excluding exceptional items)

Notes to Editors:

All the figures given above refer to the BG Group, following the Transco demerger and are presented as if the demerger had occurred at the beginning of the relevant period.

The Transco business, together with activities including BG's former property, leasing, technology and energy services businesses were demerged to the Lattice Group plc, with effect from 23 October 2000.

Financial and production targets reiterated by the BG Group in the run-up to the demerger were:

By the end of 2003, return on average capital employed to be 20 per cent, on a pre-tax basis.

Capital expenditure of £5 billion for the period 1999 to 2003.

Production targets of compound average annual growth rates from 1999 to 2003 for individual business segments of: Exploration & production, 16 per cent; Liquefied natural gas, 50 per cent; Transmission & distribution, 32 per cent; and Power generation, 10 per cent.

(Full details, including the principal risks in achieving these targets, are set out in the Demerger documentation, published on 15 September 2000).