Google posts 2.7 bn net income

The company8217;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,Google8217;s earnings fell short of market expectation during the quarter due to decline in search advertising rates sending the company8217;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 company8217;s earnings per share stood at USD 9.50 a share,while analysts expected USD 10.50 apiece.

8220;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,8221; 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 company8217;s recently-launched social networksite 8212; Google Plus 8212; has more than 90 million users,compared to 40 million users three months ago.

8220;I am super excited about the growth of Android,Gmail,and Google,which now has 90 million users globally 8212; 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,8221; Page said

8220;I am very excited about what we can do in 2012 8212; there are tremendous opportunities to help users and grow our business,8221; he added.