Google reported a 3.9% rise in first quarter net profit this week, as growth in advertising volume offset increasing costs and a decline in cost-per-click (CPC).
For the three months ended 31 March, the Internet giant generated revenue of $17.3 billion, up 12% on a year earlier.
"Excluding the net impact of forei gn currency headwinds, revenue grew by a healthy 17% year-on-year," noted outgoing CFO Patrick Pichette, in a statement on Thursday.
Revenue at Google’s core advertising business increased by 11% to $15.5 billion, driven by a 13% increase in the number of paid clicks. The growth offset a 7% decline in aggregate CPC and a 20.8% jump in operating expenses.
"We continue to see great momentum in our mobile advertising business and opportunities with brand advertisers," Pichette said.
Net income for the quarter increased to $3.6 billion from $3.5 billion a year ago.
It has been a busy week for Google.
On Tuesday, the company tweaked its search algorithm to favour Websites optimised for mobile devices.
And on Thursday, Google officially unveiled its hotly-anticipated MVNO service, Project Fi, which is hosted on Sprint and T-Mobile US’ cellular networks, but also allows customers to make calls and send SMS messages over WiFi.
