Google plans to invest heavily in innovation and cement the future of the open web, the company said after reporting a 23pc increase in revenues to US$6.7bn in the first quarter.
Net income in the first quarter of 2010 was US$1.96bn, compared to US$1.42bn in the first quarter of 2009.
Google reported revenues of US$6.77bn in the first quarter of 2010, representing a 23pc increase over first-quarter 2009 revenues of US$5.51bn.
“Google performed very well in the first quarter, with 23pc year-over-year revenue growth driven by strength across all major verticals and geographies,” said Patrick Pichette, CFO of Google.
“Going forward, we remain committed to heavy investment in innovation – both to spur future growth in our core and emerging businesses as well as to help build the future of the open web,” Pichette said.
What Google means by open web
By open web Google means a myriad of developments from growing its empire of Android-based handsets which are now selling in excess of 60,000 per day, deepening its online infrastructure to deploy innovative new mobile offerings like Google Goggles and preparing for the launch of its first computer, a Chrome-based netbook.
At the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, in February, CEO Eric Schmidt told the world’s mobile-phone industry that the company from now on will be developing all products on a ‘Mobile First’ basis.
Operating income in the first quarter of 2010 was US$2.49bn, or 37pc of revenues, compared with an operating income of US$1.88bn, or 34pc of revenues, in the first quarter of 2009.
Google-owned sites generated revenues of US$4.44bn, or 66pc of total revenues, in the first quarter of 2010 – a 20pc increase over first quarter 2009 revenues of US$3.69bn.
Google’s partner sites generated revenues, through AdSense programs, of US$2.04bn, or 30pc of total revenues, in the first quarter of 2010 – a 24pc increase from first-quarter 2009 network revenues of US$1.64bn.
Google’s revenues outside US
Revenues from outside the US totalled US$3.58bn, representing 53pc of total revenues in the first quarter of 2010, compared to 53pc in the fourth quarter of 2009 and 52pc in the first quarter of 2009.
Revenues from the UK totalled US$842m, representing 13pc of revenues in the first quarter of 2010, compared to 13pc in the first quarter of 2009.
In the first quarter of 2010, Google reported a benefit of US$10m to revenues through a foreign exchange risk management program, compared to US$154m in the first quarter of 2009.
By John Kennedy
Photo: Google CEO Eric Schmidt
