London, England -- (SBWire) --05/12/2011 --BG Group has taken a share prices hit following the announcement in its first-quarter results for 2011 that earnings are lower because of the North Sea tax.
In the recent UK Budget, Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne announced that oil companies that operate in the North Sea will have to pay a higher tax.
Earnings during the three-month period therefore dropped by $265 million (£162 million) at BG Group compared to the same quarter of 2010.
Under its business performance, total operating profit lifted by one per cent to just over $1.9 billion, while earnings per share tumbled by 25 per cent to end on 24.2 cents.
As of 09:27 BST this morning (May 10th), BG Group's share price had declined by 3.38 per cent, making it the biggest faller on the FTSE 100.
Frank Chapman, chief executive of the firm, said challenges included Australian flooding, the UK North Sea tax increase and the North Africa civil unrest.
"We now expect modest production growth in 2011," he added.
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Spread Betting News - BG Group Takes a Share Prices Hit to Become Biggest FTSE 100 Faller
Spread betting and CFD trading provider City Index (http://www.cityindex.co.uk/) take a look at the share prices of the BG Group.