Search giant Google has released its Q4 numbers, and in the process has beat Wall Street expectations predicting a fall in the recession. The company reported revenues of $5.70 billion (£4.1 billion) in Q4 of 2008, representing an 18 per cent increase in profits over the same time the previous year.
During the current economic crisis, the numbers show an overall positive picture for the Mountain View giants.
Google CEO Eric Schmidt said in a release: "Search query growth was strong, revenues were up in most verticals, and we successfully contained costs."
However, Schmidt warned that the company could face tougher hurdles in Q1 of this year.
According to Marketing Pilgrim's Andy Beal, Schmidt said: "In some ways, the fourth quarter was the easy part... Now it's clear we're in recession. We don't know how long this period will last. We're certainly prepared to get through this (with) no problem."
Beal added that the current US recession could in fact prove to help Google remain competitive and improve its products.
Beal wrote: "As the recession crept up on us, Google reacted by announcing new innovations in search, a focus on its core products, and shuttering anything that was a distraction. To draw an analogy from the boxing world, Google is getting back to its fighting weight!"
Other highlights from the numbers released by Google show the company earned 30 per cent of its revenues from AdSense, and that revenue from paid clicks increased by 18 per cent from the same time last year.
Schmidt said that Google's focus will continue to remain on long-term goals, saying they will: "continue to invest in Google's core search and ads business as well as in strategic growth areas such as display, mobile and enterprise," despite current economic conditions.
