Google’s profits are back on track, reporting $50bn in revenues for 2012 and a rise in profits during the fourth quarter of last year.
The results are a welcome return to form for Google, which posted a sharp fall in profits during the third quarter of 2012.
Net profit for the final three months of last year was $2.89bn (£1.83bn), up 7% on a year earlier. Revenues were up by more than a third at $14.4bn.
UK revenues for the quarter ending 31 December 2012 climbed from $1.23bn in the previous quarter on the back of a stabilisation of its cost-per-click revenues.
On a year-on-year basis UK revenues increased by an impressive 23% in the fourth quarter of 2012, rising from $1.06bn in the final three months of 2011 to $1.30bn in the same period of 2012.
Google shares rose by almost 5% in after-hours trading, following the better-than-expected results.
“We ended 2012 with a strong quarter,” said the internet giant’s chief executive Larry Page. “And we hit $50bn in revenues for the first time last year – not a bad achievement in just a decade and a half.
“In today’s multi-screen world we face tremendous opportunities as a technology company focused on user benefit. It’s an incredibly exciting time to be at Google.”
The fourth quarter figures are not directly comparable with a year earlier, as they include Motorola Mobility, which Google bought in May 2012. The subsidiary made a loss in the latest three month period.