Google posted higher revenue and profit figures for its first quarter, as the web search giant continued to benefit from a rebounding global economy, dpa reported. The Silicon Valley powerhouse, which is expanding strongly into the mobile internet to compete with Apple, said revenues totaled 6.77 billion dollars in the quarter, up 23 per cent over the year ago period. Net operating income was 1.96 billion dollars, up from 1.42 billion dollars a year ago. Revenues from outside of the US totaled 3.58 billion dollars and represented 53 per cent of the company's total revenues in the first quarter. "Google performed very well in the first quarter, with 23-per-cent year-over-year revenue growth driven by strength across all major verticals and geographies," said Patrick Pichette, Google's chief financial officer. "Going forward, we remain committed to heavy investment in innovation - both to spur future growth in our core and emerging businesses as well as to help build the future of the open web."
