BG Group Chairman nearly doubles stake

The Chairman of BG Group, the FTSE 100 natural gas group, on Tuesday purchased 35,000 shares, nearly doubling his stake to 65,000. Andrew Gould, who took up the role last year, purchased the shares at 1,120.00p a time, costing a total of £392,000. One week ago the company posted a 29% drop in fourth quarter earnings, as a result of a decline in cargo deliveries. Earnings for the last three months of 2012 came to $1.0bn, down from $1.4bn the previous year, primarily as a result of $277m tax credit in 2011. The results were in line with a 12% drop to $1.8bn in total operating profit for the period. The group's earnings per share came to $0.30, a 29% decline from the year before, while dividend per share rose 10% to $0.14. Top Director BuysDatatec Ltd. (DI) (DTC) Director name: Mr Jens MontananaAmount purchased: 300,000 @ 335.30p Value: £1,005,900BG Group (BG.) Director name: Mr Andrew GouldAmount purchased: 35,000 @ 1,120.00p Value: £392,000Avanti Communications Group (AVN) Director name: Mr Paul Johnson Amount purchased: 10,000 @ 277.00p Value: £27,700President Energy (PPC) Director name: Mr Peter LevineAmount purchased: 100,000 @ 23.00p Value: £23,0003i Group (III) Director name: Mrs Julia WilsonAmount purchased: 3,921 @ 285.98p Value: £11,213NR