Internet giant Google easily beat expectations when this week it announced a 69 per cent rise in first quarter net profits to $1 billion.
The US group had revenues of $3.66 billion (€2.7 billion) for the three months to the end of March, including traffic acquisition costs of of $1.13 billion paid to other websites.
"We are ecstatic about our financial results this past quarter," chief executive Eric Schmidt said. "Our core business is very strong. It is the core business that is driving our success."
Google said its effective tax rate for the first quarter was 26 per cent. The company has significantly reduced its tax rate in recent years - it was as high as 39 per cent in 2005 - through the use of an Irish vehicle, Google Ireland Holdings.
Under a deal struck with US tax authorities last December, Google agreed to limit the tax savings it would make by using its Irish subsidiaries.
Employment at the Californian-headquartered company grew by 15 per cent to 12,238 in the first quarter.
Google now employs about 1,000 people at its Dublin operations centre. This figure will increase to 1,300 by year end.
Three-and-a-half billion searches were carried out at Google sites last month, giving it a 48.3 per cent market share - more than nearest rivals Yahoo and Microsoft combined.
Google shares rose 3 per cent in after hours trading on Thursday on the back of the news.
The stock price has stubbornly remained between $4.50 and $5.00 since the beginning of the year. - (Additional reporting: Reuters)
