Google’s fourth-quarter revenue was up 36 percent from the previous year, thanks to continued growth in its advertising business.
Revenue for the quarter, which ended Dec. 31, was $14.42 billion, up from $10.6 billion a year earlier, Google announced Tuesday. The figures exclude the commissions and fees that Google pays to other sites that run its ads. Taking those into account, revenue for the last quarter was $11.34 billion.
Net income was $2.89 billion, or $8.62 a share, compared to $2.71 billion, or $8.22 per share, in the fourth quarter a year earlier, Google said. The latest figure includes the loss from Motorola’s Home business division, which Google agreed to sell in December.
On a pro forma basis, which excludes the Motorola loss and other items, net income would have been $3.57 billion, or $10.65 a share, compared to $3.13 billion, or $9.50 per share, in the fourth quarter of 2011.
In a statement, CEO Larry Page said Google’s full-year revenue topped $50 billion for the first time— “not a bad achievement in just a decade and a half,” he said.
Revenue from Google’s own websites made up two-thirds of its total revenue and was up 18 percent from last year. Revenue from its partner sites generated 27 percent of revenue, an increase of 19 percent, Google said. Its “other” revenue category accounted for the remainder.