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's Second Quarter Earnings Rise 171%

        FOLSOM, N.J. -- South Jersey Industries (NYSE:SJI) today reported earnings from continuing operations of $2.0 million, or $0.16 per share for the second quarter of 2003 compared with $700,000 or $0.06 per share, for the same period last year. Wall Street had forecast that the Folsom based energy holding company would earn $.05 per share according to Thomson First Call.

        Commenting on SJI's second quarter and first half results, Charles Biscieglia, Chairman and CEO of SJI, said, "We are pleased to continue to deliver this consistent performance to our valued shareholders. The results of the first half of 2003 serve to make me even more confident in our ability to deliver earnings per share growth in 2003 of at least the 7% to 10 % that we outlined during the second quarter." SJI's earnings from continuing operations for the first six months of 2003 were a record $24.8 million or $2.01 per share compared with $20.4 million, or $1.71 per share for 2002.

Second Quarter 2003 Business and Financial Highlights Include:

    Utility Operations 

• Customer Growth Well Above Industry Average
  Strong customer growth, fueled by new construction and conversions from other energy sources, continues at SJG, our core business. SJG had 298,877 customers at June 30, 2003 an increase of 7,186 over the same period last year. The 2.5% customer growth is well above the industry average. We project that customer growth will be closer to 3% for the full year based upon the continued strength of development in our service territory.
   
  Weather for the quarter in the utility service territory was 29% colder than normal and 42% colder than last year, resulting in higher sales volumes for both residential and commercial customers, contributing significantly to profitability. The combination of weather, strong customer growth, favorable interest rates and continued attention to operational efficiencies produced a $900,000 improvement in the core utility's profitability for the quarter.

    Appliance Service Business Thriving

• Strong marketing and sales efforts continue to generate customers for our Appliance Service Business. These factors produced a 37% increase in net income for the second quarter of 2003 compared with the same period in 2002. The transformation of the Appliance Service Business from being part of the utility to being a competitive business will be completed pending NJ Board of Public Utilities approval. This shift will enable us to more fully realize the earnings potential of this business by reacting much more quickly to market conditions and opportunities.

    Non-Utility Operations

• South Jersey Energy's Strong Customer Growth Rate Continues
  SJE ended 2002 as New Jersey's fastest growing energy marketer and continues in that role in 2003. SJE had 88,437 residential, commercial and industrial customers at the end of the second quarter of 2003 compared to 53,495 at the end of the same period in 2002, a 65% increase. SJE added almost 6000 customers during the second quarter of 2003.
  
  
• South Jersey Resources Group To Provide Service To FPL Energy Facility
  South Jersey Resources Group entered into a 5-year agreement to supply fuel management services to FPL Energy's Marcus Hook cogeneration facility. The 750-megawatt facility, currently under construction in Philadelphia, PA, will serve the Sunoco refinery and produce electricity to sell into the market. SJRG will provide enough gas to the site annually to supply approximately 292,000 homes. This contract will begin contributing to SJI's profitability during the spring of 2004.

• Marina Energy Energizes The Borgata and SJI Profits
  Marina Energy began a new chapter in energy services leadership when the Borgata casino opened its doors on July 3, 2003. Marina's 26,000 square foot thermal plant will provide for all of the casino's energy needs for at least the next 20 years and help to fuel the economic growth of Atlantic City. SJI anticipates the project to be a significant profit contributor from the start. SJI's 2003 performance will include only 6 months of the thermal plant's results. The first full year of operation will be 2004.
  
  

"Our success is evidence that our strategy works. We will continue to follow the strategy we established five years ago of taking advantage of our strong regional presence to sell energy-related services that complement our basic utility service", says Biscieglia. "That enables us to operate from a low risk platform and capitalize on skills and expertise we already possess."

Webcast and Conference Call Details

        South Jersey Industries President and COO, Edward J. Graham, will host an open conference call and webcast to discuss the company's second quarter 2003 earnings on Tuesday, July 29, 2003 at 11:00 a.m. EDT.

        To participate in the conference call, dial 1-800-360-9865 approximately 10 minutes ahead of the scheduled time. To listen to the live webcast, simply visit the South Jersey Industries website at www.sjindustries.com and click the webcast icon. SJI encourages shareholders, media and members of the financial community to attend the conference call and/or listen to the webcast.

        South Jersey Industries (NYSE: SJI) is an energy services holding company for South Jersey Gas, South Jersey Energy, South Jersey Resources Group and Marina Energy. Visit www.sjindustries.com for more information about SJI and its subsidiaries.

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Comparative Earnings Statements

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 first quarter 2003 SEC Form 10Q, 2002 SEC Form 10K and 2002 Annual Report for a discussion of risks and/or uncertainties that may cause actual results to vary.

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