Google Q3 profits jump 27% to $1.64 bn

Internet search engine giant Google has reported a 27 per cent growth in net income at $1.64 billion for the third quarter on the back of higher advertising revenues.

The company had a net income of $1.29 billion in July-September last year, Google said in a statement.

Google registered revenues of $5.94 billion for the quarter under review, an increase of 7 per cent over that in the third quarter of 2008.

"Google had a strong quarter -- we saw seven per cent year-over-year revenue growth despite the tough economic conditions. While there is a lot of uncertainty about the pace of economic recovery, we believe the worst of the recession is behind us and now feel confident about investing heavily in our future," Google CEO Eric Schmidt said.

Google-owned sites contributed 67 per cent to the total revenues, generating $3.96 billion in the third quarter against $3.67 billion in the same period last fiscal.

The company's partner sites generated revenues, through AdSense programmes, of $1.80 billion in the third quarter, a 7 per cent increase same period last year.

Google reports its revenues, consistent with GAAP, on a gross basis without deducting traffic acquisition costs (TAC). In the third quarter of 2009, TAC totalled $1.56 billion, or 27 per cent of advertising revenues.