Google Reports First $50 Billion Revenue Year As Profits Jump

Google Reports First $50 Billion Revenue Year As Profits Jump
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Google's annual revenue has risen above $50 billion for the first time.

The search giant reported a rise in profits for the last quarter of 2012, and said it was investing more money in building its next generation of products.

In its latest earning statement, the company said net profits reached $2.89 billion in the last three months of 2012 - up 7%.

Revenues were up by more than one third to $14.4 billion, reaching more than $50 billion for the year.

The results were received warmly on the markets, where Google's share price rose by 5% in after-hours trading. Its profits had fallen in the third quarter of 2012, but rebounded from October to December.

Google's CEO Larry Page said the results represented a "strong quarter".

"we hit $50bn in revenues for the first time last year - not a bad achievement in just a decade and a half," he said.

"It's an incredibly exciting time to be at Google."

But the company still has issues to sort out, including what to do with Motorola Mobility, which it bought for $12 billion in 2012.

Google said it was "early days" but was looking to release new Motorola devices.

"We're really in the early days of Motorola with respect to Google's acquisition of it," Page said.

He added: "There’s real potential to invent new and better experiences."