LONDON, July 29 (Reuters) - Royal Dutch Shell's
second quarter profit jumped to $5.5 billion, its highest in
over two years as a sharp rise in oil and gas prices prompted
the company to raise its dividend and launch a $2 million share
buyback programme.
Adjusted earnings rose to $5.53 billion, the highest since
the fourth quarter of 2018, exceeding an average analyst
forecast provided by the company for a $5.07 billion profit.
That compares with earnings of $2.9 billion a year earlier.
"We are stepping up our shareholder distributions today,
increasing dividends and starting share buybacks, while we
continue to invest for the future of energy," Shell Chief
Executive Ben van Beurden said in a statement.
(Reporting by Ron Bousso; Editing by Edmund Blair)