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NOVEMBER 19, 2004
PHONE: 609-561-9000
IR: STEPHEN CLARK x4260 e-mail: sclark@sjindustries.com
PR: JOANNE BRIGANDI x4240 e-mail: jbrigandi@sjindustries.com
SOUTH JERSEY INDUSTRIES RAISES DIVIDEND 4.9%
FOLSOM, N.J.
– South Jersey Industries (NYSE:SJI)
announced today that its board of directors voted to increase the company’s
regular quarterly dividend from $0.405 to $0.425 per share. The increase equates
to an annualized dividend of $1.70, an $.08 per share increase over the previous
level. This marks the sixth year in a row that SJI, the parent company of South
Jersey Gas, has increased its dividend.
“Record year-to-date performance at both our utility and non-utility businesses, coupled with our expectations for the future, clearly support today’s increase,” stated Ed Graham, SJI president and CEO. “SJI is committed to providing our shareholders with a significant, growing dividend,” added Graham. Last November SJI’s board established a dividend growth policy of 3% to 6% per year based upon the company’s expectations of future earnings growth.
The dividend is payable December 30, 2004 to shareholders of record at the close of business December 10, 2004. SJI has paid dividends for 53 consecutive years.
South Jersey Industries (NYSE: SJI) is an energy services holding company for South Jersey Gas, South Jersey Energy, South Jersey Resources Group, South Jersey Energy Service Plus, and Marina Energy. 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 2003 SEC Form 10 K and Annual Report,
and subsequently filed SEC Forms 10 Q for a discussion of risks and/or uncertainties
that may cause actual results to vary.
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