Google reported fourth-quarter revenues up 17 percent from a year earlier to USD 16.86 billion. Motorola accounted for 7 percent of revenues or USD 1.24 billion, down from USD 1.51 billion a year ago. Google's own revenues were up 22 percent year-on-year to USD 15.72 billion. The company reported a 31 percent rise in paid clicks for ads served, while the average cost per click fell 11 percent from Q4 2012. Traffic acquisition costs, the portion of revenues shared with partners, increased to USD 3.31 billion or 24 percent of ad revenue, compared to USD 3.08 billion a year ago.
The company's operating profit totaled USD 3.92 billion in Q4, up from USD 3.39 billion in the year-earlier period. Motorola's loss more than doubled, to USD 384 million from USD 152 million, while Google's profit jumped to USD 5.32 billion from USD 4.42 billion. The group's net result was a profit of USD 3.38 billion or USD 9.90 per share, compared to USD 2.89 billion or USD 8.62 per share in the fourth quarter of 2012.
After capital expenditures of USD 2.26 billion, Google generated free cash flow of USD 2.98 billion. The company finished the year with total cash of USD 58.72 billion. Google also approved the issue of Class C shares as a dividend.
