Google silence doomsayers with $1.3bn profit

Google has reported a profit of US$1.31 billion for the first three months of 2008, allaying fears that online advertising revenues had been hit by the credit crunch.

This represents a 31% increase in profits compared to the $1 billion made by Google in the same period last year.

Net income on-year increased 42% at $5.19 billion.

The rise in profits saw Google’s share price reach over $500 for the first time since February.

Internet watchers such as Hitwise and comScore had been reporting that Google’s paid-click growth had hit a slowdown, resulting in a decline in Google’s share price. Now that Google’s results tell a different story, share prices are expected to continue rising.

Last month Google completed its acquisition of DoubleClick for $3.1 billion. DoubleClick specialises in targeted online adverts based upon the websites visited on a computer.