By Simon Kennedy
UK:RDSA RDS.A
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Oil giant Royal Dutch Shell PLC UK:RDSA -0.80% RDS.A -2.21% said Thursday that its second-quarter net profit nearly doubled to $8.66 billion from $4.39 billion a year earlier as revenue grew 34% to $121.26 billion, driven by higher oil prices. Excluding one-off items and the impact of energy price changes on unsold inventory, profit rose 56% to $6.55 billion. The group said it will pay a second-quarter dividend of 42 cents a share -- unchanged from a year earlier.
