Royal Dutch Shell PLC reported a marked increase in third-quarter profit Tuesday, reversing a successive decline in earnings this year as its drive to lower costs to counter weak oil prices bore fruit. The company said its quarterly profit on a current cost-of-supplies basis—a number similar to the net income that U.S. oil companies report –was $1.4 billion, up from a loss of $6.1 billion in the third quarter of 2015 and sharply higher compared with the previous quarter. The improvement in earnings is an important victory for management, who must show they are taking steps to sustain the business through a t wo-year slump in oil prices and are able to deliver value after completing a roughly $50 billion acquisition of smaller rival BG Group earlier this year that many investors worried […]