Google hit US$50bn in revenues for the first time in 2012

23 Jan 2013

Google CEO Larry Page

Internet search and advertising giant Google reported a strong fourth quarter with revenues increasing 36pc to US$14.4bn. For the full year of 2012, Google hit revenues of US$50bn for the first time.

Google’s CEO Larry Page said fourth-quarter revenues would have been north of US$15.2bn if its acquisition of Motorola Home had been included. Google agreed to sell Motorola Home to Arris Group in December for US$2.35bn.

“We ended 2012 with a strong quarter,” Page said. “Revenues were up 36pc year-on-year, and 8pc quarter-on-quarter.

“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 search giant reported its operating income in the fourth quarter of 2012 was US$3.39bn, or 24pc of revenues.

Net income including net loss from discontinued operations in the fourth quarter of 2012 was US$2.89bn, compared to US$2.71bn in the fourth quarter of 2011.

Google advertising revenues were US$12.91bn, or 89pc of consolidated revenues. Google-owned sites generated revenues of US$8.64bn, or 67pc of total Google revenues.

Google’s partner sites generated revenues of US$3.44bn, or 27pc of total Google revenues, up 19pc on last year.

Revenues from outside the United States totalled US$6.9bn, representing 54pc of total revenues.

John Kennedy is a journalist who served as editor of Silicon Republic for 17 years

editorial@siliconrepublic.com