BG Group, the oil firm who is the subject of a near-complete takeover by Royal Dutch Shell, reported a significant rise in pre-tax profits for 2015.

These results are some of the most positive to come from oil companies of late, as falling oil prices have hit several hard – including Shell, who yesterday announced an 87 percent profit fall.

BG announced that pre-tax profits for the full year were $2.97 billion, compared to a $2.3 billion loss in 2014. In the most recent quarter BG made a loss, but improved from a loss of $8.3 billion for the final quarter of 2014 to just $1.17 billion for the same quarter of 2015.

In a statement, BG’s CEO Helge Lund said: “We are pleased to have delivered an excellent operational performance in 2015. This strong performance is the result of the capability and commitment of our teams across the organisation.”

For Shell, BG’s strong results bode well and prove their position as an asset to the Shell business. BG’s (LON:BG) shares are currently up 1.23 percent at 1070.5 (1038GMT).

05/02/2016