BG Group Plc, which was acquired by Royal Dutch Shell Plc for more than $70 billion in April, reported a 65% drop in second-quarter profit following a slump in oil prices. Net income fell to $429 million from $1.2 billion a year earlier, Reading, England-based BG said Friday in a statement. That beat the $343.7 million estimate of 11 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. Shell agreed to buy BG, expanding its natural-gas assets in Australia, deepwater fields in Brazil and giving it a foothold in East Africa. The attraction of the company’s gas portfolio outweighed BG’s missed production targets that pushed down its shares in two of the past three years. BG has gained 19% to 1,079.50 pence in London trading since the acquisition was announced. The stock fell 33% last year.
