South Jersey Industries, Inc.

NEWS RELEASE

1 South Jersey Plaza, Folsom, New Jersey 08037
Tel. (609) 561-9000 Fax (609) 561-8225 TDD ONLY 1-800-547-9085

SJI Posts Record Earnings & Raises Dividend

       FOLSOM, N.J. -- Today, South Jersey Industries (NYSE: SJI) announced record earnings from continuing operations of $24.7 million or $2.16 per share for 2000. This represents a 12.2 percent increase in net income and a 7.5 percent increase in earnings per share from continuing operations over 1999.

       SJI's consolidated net income, including discontinued operations, improved in 2000 to $2.12 per share compared with $1.99 per share in 1999. The earnings improvement was due mainly to gas marketing activities at South Jersey Energy and a combination of customer growth and off-system sales activity at South Jersey Gas.

       "SJI's results clearly indicate our approach to the regional energy market is sound and profitable," said SJI Chairman Charles Biscieglia. "The performance of our business lines in 2000 puts SJI well on its way to meeting our goal of 10 percent earnings per share growth beyond 2003."

       SJI's Board of Directors increased the annual dividend by $0.02 per share to $1.48, reflecting SJI's commitment to consistent, sustainable dividend growth. This increase is effective with the April dividend payment date.

       "We understand our shareholders value dividends as an important portion of total return on investment," Biscieglia added.

       Highlights of SJI's record year include:

• Non-Utility Earnings Up 81 Percent: SJI successfully navigated volatile market conditions, increasing non-utility earnings to $2.9 million compared with $1.6 million in 1999. Non-utility activities accounted for almost 12 percent of SJI's net earnings, up from 5 percent in 1999. While most of the increase was derived from retail and wholesale gas marketing activities at South Jersey Energy, earnings from a joint meter reading venture and air monitoring also contributed to earnings growth.
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• Strong Customer Growth at South Jersey Gas: SJG's customer base increased by 7,451 to 281,350 in 2000. This 2.7 percent increase almost doubled the national average growth rate for local distribution companies.
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• Strong Off-System Sales & Capacity Release Programs: SJG generated $6.1 million of net income that was $600,000 more than in 1999, through the management of its off-system sales and capacity release programs. SJG sold 75.5 Bcf of natural gas via these programs in 2000 -- a 3.8 Bcf increase over 1999. SJG also has a sharing formula linked with these programs through which $5.6 million was returned to its customers as an offset to gas costs in 2000. These programs combined with customer growth and cost containment drove utility earnings up by 6.9 percent for the year.
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• SJI Wins Borgata Contract: SJI's abilities as a full-service energy provider were recognized with the award of a 20-year contract to provide heat, hot water and cooling to The Borgata Resort in Atlantic City. SJI will construct a $40 million thermal energy plant to supply these services for The Borgata's July 2003 opening. The project creates valuable synergy within SJI through multiple income streams as the provider companies Marina Energy LLC, South Jersey Energy and South Jersey Gas are all wholly owned by SJI. This contract and others like it support SJI's goal of 20 percent earnings contributions from non-utility businesses.
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• SJI Raises Dividend: SJI's Board of Directors increased the dividend for the second consecutive year effective April 2001 by $0.02 to an annual $1.48 per share. At the same time, the dividend payout ratio on earnings from continuing operations declined to 66.8 percent, the lowest level in the last decade.

Earnings Conference Call

       SJI will hold an open conference call and webcast to discuss its 2000 results today at 11 a.m. Eastern Time. To participate in the call, dial 1-888-222-2994 approximately 10 minutes ahead of the scheduled time. To listen to the live webcast, simply visit the South Jersey Industries website at http://www.sjindustries.com and click the webcast icon. A recorded version of the webcast will be available at SJI's website following the call. A rebroadcast will also be available by phoning 1-800-428-6051 and entering the code: 157962.

       South Jersey Industries (NYSE: SJI) is an energy services holding company for South Jersey Gas and South Jersey Energy. SJI's goals are to provide consistent, sustainable dividend growth and to increase its earnings per share by five to 10 percent annually. Visit http://www.sjindustries.com to learn more about SJI and its subsidiaries.

       This release contains forward-looking statements about SJI's financial performance. The statements are made in good faith and deemed reasonable at the date of this release. SJI assumes no responsibility to update this information. Actual results may vary and SJI encourages you to conduct your own research before making any investment decisions including a review of SJI's third quarter 2000 SEC Form 10Q for a complete discussion of risks and/or uncertainties that may cause actual results to vary.

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