Google sees revenue jump as clicks soar
GOOGLE delivered another triumphant set of quarterly results yesterday that showed revenues soared to almost $10bn (£6.4bn) as more than 40m people joined its new Google+ social network.
Gross revenue from Google’s search advertising reached $9.7bn in the three months to the end of September, a third higher than in the same quarter of 2010.
The performance was helped by a 28 per cent jump in the rate of paid click-throughs, where users click on adverts to generate revenue, which smashed analyst forecasts of less than 20 per cent growth.
Revenue after the cost of each click-through were deducted was $7.5bn, again beating market expectations for $7.2bn. Net profit rose to $2.7bn, 26 per cent higher than a year ago.
Chief executive Larry Page said it had been “a great quarter”, helped by the success of Facebook rival Google+.
“People are flocking into Google+ at an incredible rate and we are just getting started,” he said in a statement.
Investors welcomed the news, which confirmed that Google could sustain its growth despite the difficult economic climate. Its shares climbed 6.7 per cent in after-hours trading.
Google came under fire this year over its high rate of hiring and spending, but the results reassured analysts that the financial gains outweighed the company’s growing costs.