Google posts $2.7 billion net income for Oct-Dec

Internet search giant Google has posted a net income of USD 2.71 billion for October-December, which analysts termed as below market expectation.

The company had a net income of USD 2.54 billion for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2010, Google said in a statement.

The company's revenues rose by 25 per cent from the year-ago period to USD 10.58 billion in the quarter under review.

According to experts, Google's earnings fell short of market expectation during the quarter due to decline in search advertising rates sending the company's shares to plunge more than 9 per cent on Nasdaq.

For the full year ended December 31, 2011, Google registered a net income of USD 9.73 billion and revenues stood at USD 37.90 billion.

Google has posted fourth-quarter sales, excluding revenue passed on to partner sites, of USD 8.13 billion falling short of the USD 8.4 billion expected. Besides, the company's earnings per share stood at USD 9.50 a share, while analysts expected USD 10.50 apiece.

"Google had a really strong quarter ending a great year. Full year revenue was up 29 per cent, and our quarterly revenue blew past the USD 10 billion mark for the first time," Google CEO Larry Page said.

Paid click, which measure consumers click on its ads, surged 34 per cent in the October-December quarter of 2011 compared with a year earlier. However, the average amount paid by advertisers every time a user clicked on slumped 8 per cent.

The company's recently-launched social networksite -- Google Plus -- has more than 90 million users, compared to 40 million users three months ago.

"I am super excited about the growth of Android, Gmail, and Google+, which now has 90 million users globally – well over double what I announced just three months ago. By building a meaningful relationship with our users through Google Plus we will create amazing experiences across our services," Page said.

"I am very excited about what we can do in 2012 – there are tremendous opportunities to help users and grow our business," he added.