Google’s parent company Alphabet has reported a profit rise of nearly 50 percent, in its first full set of results since its creation.
Net income rose $2.74 billion to $3.98 billion on the year, with growth largely attributed to mobile searches and YouTube users.
Google created Alphabet in August, in a bid to simplify the structure of its diverse businesses, which include the secretive Google X.
The company also announced plans for a large share buyback, causing shares to shoot up 11 percent in after hours trading.
The results show Google’s continued strong performance in a difficult market, where advertising on sites is becoming increasing blocked and strong competition is faced from the likes of Facebook and Twitter.
Sundar Pichai, chief executive of Google Inc, commented:
“Search traffic on mobile phones have now surpassed desktop traffic worldwide. However, our value proposition to markets of all sizes is simple. Google can help you show the right ads to the right people at the right moment.”
Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL) is currently trading up 1.39 percent, at 681.14 pence per share.
