Google Inc reported on Thursday that its quarterly profit rose with a jump in revenue and released word that its chief business officer was leaving the company.
High-profile executive Nikesh Aurora took a moment on the earnings call to thank Google for a “phenomenal” 10 years and said he looked forward to “cheering them on from the sideline.”
Arora will be replaced in the interim by Omid Kordestani, a business founder who led Google’s sales teams.
Google chief financial officer Patrick Pichette steered talk on the earnings call away from Aurora’s career move to a job at Japan’s Softbank Corp, saying he wanted to keep focused on freshly released quarterly earnings figures.
The California-based Internet titan said its profit jumped during the three months ending on June 30, rising 6 percent from a year ago to US$3.42 billion.
Revenue was up 22 percent year-on-year, at US$16 billion.
“We are moving forward with great product momentum and are excited to continue providing amazing user experiences, with a view to the long term,” Pichette said.
Google shares rose about 1 percent to US$579 in after-market trading that followed release of the earnings figures.
Google said a key factor in revenue was the jump in “paid clicks,” for ads related to searches on Google and its partner sites.
Total paid clicks were up 25 percent from one year ago and 2 percent from the past quarter, while the average cost per click was down 6 percent from a year earlier.
Google is the leader in digital advertising and had a 31.9 percent share of the global market last year, according to the research firm eMarketer.
The closest rival was Facebook with 5.8 percent.
According to eMarketer, Google has more than 50 percent of the worldwide mobile advertising market.
Google’s profit per share was US$6.08, about US$0.16 below analysts’ forecasts, but revenues were better than the average estimate of US$15.6 billion.
Google makes most of its money from digital advertising. However, it has been diversifying into other areas such as home automation, self-driving cars and wearable technology such as smartwatches and Internet-linked eyewear, with the release of Google Glass in April.
Pichette told analysts that Google takes a venture capitalist approach to new projects, calling on teams to hit milestones and make their cases when it comes to being funded.
With projects such as autonomous cars under way in the Google X lab, payoff could be years away, while new software innovations could generate faster returns.
Pichette told analysts that Google has about 60 percent of its cash reserves outside the US and that there was an “interesting case” for keeping it there.
“We do have great opportunities outside the US to invest our cash,” Pichette said, noting opportunities for acquisitions, building data centers and expanding offices.
He added that Google has “exciting plans” for its capital in the Asia-Pacific and Europe regions.
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