LONDON, Nov 1 (Reuters) - Royal Dutch Shell reported an 18 percent rise in underlying net profit for thethird quarter on Tuesday, beating analysts' forecasts as itannounced next year's capital spending will be at the bottom ofthe expected range.
Net income in the quarter, based on a current cost ofsupplies (CCS) and excluding exceptional items, rose to $2.8billion, which the company said compared with analysts'expectations of $1.71 billion.
Shell disappointed the market with its second-quarterresults, the first full quarter following the completion of theBG acquisition in February, by missing expectations by around 50percent.
Shell said its 2017 capital spending was expected to be ataround $25 billion, at the bottom of the range previouslyprovided. This year's capex will be around $29 billion.
(Reporting by Ron Bousso, editing by Louise Heavens)
