Google reports upturn in revenues

Google has beaten many analysts’ expectations by posting a 9% rise in net profits for the first quarter of the year.

The search engine giant says that net income for the three months to March 31 was $1.42bn (£958.1 million), up from $1.31bn (£884 million) in the same period last year.

The gain in income was driven by a 6% bump in revenues, up to $5.51bn (£3.72 bn) from $5.2bn (£1.68 bn) a year earlier.

However, the company did register its first ever quarter on quarter drop in revenues, down 3% on the fourth quarter.

Eric Schmidt, chief executive of Google, says the company had a “good” quarter despite the “depth of the recession”, adding that it is not immune from the impact of the global downturn. 

“These results underline both the resilience of our business model and the ongoing potential of the web as users and advertisers shift online,” he adds.

The core Google site accounted for the majority of generated revenues, $3.7bn (£2.49 bn) or 67% of total revenues while partner sites, through the search giant’s Adsense program, generated $1.64bn (£1.1bn), down 3% on last year.

UK revenues totalled $733 million (£494 million), representing 13% of revenues, down from the 15% it accounted for in the first quarter of 2008.

Despite the strong showing in the first quarter, Google has been feeling the effects of the global recession and the downturn in advertising spending.

It recently axed 200 sales and marketing jobs to improve efficiencies and avoid duplication, a move that followed the 100 jobs relating to its recruitment process it cut in January.