Google posts largest Q3 profit ever

Internet search giant Google has posted its largest ever third quarter profit, beating the expectations of Wall Street analysts. Profits jumped 27 percent from the same period a year ago at the Mountain View, California based company, totaling $1.64 billion between July and September. Revenue for the period totaled $4.38 billion, well ahead of analystsÔÇÖ predicted figure of $1.29 billion and a rise of 8 percent on the second quarterÔÇöits biggest sequential quarterly increase since the onset of the financial downturn. Commenting on the results, Eric Schmidt, CEO of Google, said: "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."  The strong results are partly due to resilience in the paid search market and an increase in spending by advertisers. Paid search generally holds up better in a recession than other forms of advertising that require greater planning. GoogleÔÇÖs total number of paid clicksÔÇöhow often shoppers click on online adsÔÇöleapt up 14 percent from the same period a year earlier.  The company also announced a sharp increase in the number of searches made from mobile phonesÔÇöup 30 percent from the second quarter. The impressive results were also partly due to the companyÔÇÖs recent cost-cutting measures, which included some redundancies, but it has now said it is looking to hire up to 2,000 sales staff and engineers. Google has also said it is planning to make further acquisitions, primarily of small technology start-ups. As well as agreeing a deal to broadcast shows from UK televisionÔÇÖs Channel 4 on its YouTube site, Google is also preparing for the launch of electronic book sales through its new electronic editions serviceÔÇöa move that will directly compete with Amazon and Apple. Computer giant IBM is another firm to have recently announced better-than-expected profits for the July to September period. Its earnings were $3.2 billion, up 14 percent on a year earlier. The results from the Armonk, New York-based firm have added to hopes that the technology sector may be a barometer of the wider economyÔÇÖs recovery. Google currently employs 19,665 full-time staff worldwide. *┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á *┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á *