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NEW YORK – Laurence M. Downes, chairman and CEO of New Jersey Resources (NYSE: NJR), addressed financial analysts in New York today. Mr. Downes reported on NJR’s year-end performance highlights, commenting on the excellent financial results achieved in fiscal 2004, building on the fundamental strengths of NJR’s core natural gas distribution business.

Results for fiscal 2004 covered at the meeting included:

• Increasing earnings to $2.60 per basic share, 7.9 percent higher than last year.
• Reporting increases in earnings per share in each of the last 13 years.
• Delivering a 1-year total return on investment of 18.5 percent and an annualized return of 15.2 percent on a 3-year basis.
• Growing earnings contributed by NJR Energy Services, NJR’s unregulated wholesale energy services subsidiary, by 19 percent.
• Achieving annual customer growth of approximately 2.4 percent, which is above the national average for natural gas distribution companies.
• Maintaining for the third year in a row, the highest score of all natural gas utilities in New Jersey, as received by New Jersey Natural Gas, NJR’s principal subsidiary, in the 2004 J.D. Power and Associates Gas Utility Residential Customer Satisfaction Study.

A full copy of today’s presentation to analysts may be viewed or downloaded from the company’s Web site at njliving.com. Simply click on “Investor Relations” from the home page. The company’s 2004 Annual Report is also available on the Web site.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR), a Fortune 1000 company and a member of the Forbes Platinum 400, provides reliable retail and wholesale energy services to customers in New Jersey and in states from the Gulf Coast to New England, and Canada. Its principal subsidiary, New Jersey Natural Gas, is one of the fastest-growing local distribution companies in the United States, serving more than 450,000 customers in central and northern New Jersey. Other major NJR subsidiaries include NJR Energy Services and NJR Home Services. NJR Energy Services is a leader in the unregulated energy services market, providing outstanding customer service and management of natural gas storage and capacity assets. NJR Home Services offers retail customers expert heating, air conditioning and appliance services. NJR’s progress is a tribute to the more than 5,000 dedicated employees who have shared their expertise and focus on quality through more than 50 years of serving customers and the community to make NJR a leader in the competitive energy marketplace. For more information, visit NJR’s Web site at njliving.com.