British energy producer BG Group said Thursday that net profits slid in the first quarter, hit by falling production and rising costs. Earnings after taxation retreated 1.0 percent to $1.207 billion in the three months to the end of March, compared with $1.217 billion in the same part of 2012, BG said in a results statement. Production dropped 3.0 percent to 59.3 million barrels per day of oil equivalent in the reporting period.