Google ramped up its first-quarter earnings to nearly 3.6 billion dollars (3.3 billion euros), the internet search giant announced Thursday, according to dpa. Quarterly revenue was up 12 per cent from the previous year to 17.3 billion dollars. Chief financial officer Patrick Pichette said in a press release that without the strong dollar's "headwinds" against foreign earnings, revenue would have risen 17 per cent. Google's advertising earnings were up 11 per cent compared to the first quarter of 2014. The company faces stiff competition from rivals Facebook and Yahoo for online advertising earnings, especially in the booming mobile sector. Pichette said the company's mobile advertising business was moving with "great momentum." The results for the quarter ending March 31, 2015 missed analyst expectations.But Google shares still managed to climb more than 2 per cent in after-hours trading.
