Google sees first ever drop in revenue

Google's first-quarter revenues fell three per cent to $5.51bn

Google has published its quarterly earnings statement, revealing that the company is still making a sizeable profit but that sales are dropping in the recession.

Profits for the quarter were up 8.9 per cent, from $1.31bn to $1.42bn (£884m to £959m), but revenues fell for the first time since Google went public, down three per cent to $5.51bn (£3.72bn). The figure still represents a rise of six per cent on the first quarter of last year.

"Google had a good quarter given the depth of the recession. While revenues were down quarter over quarter, they grew six per cent year over year thanks to continued strong query growth," said Eric Schmidt, chief executive of Google.

"These results underline the resilience of our business model, and the ongoing potential of the web as users and advertisers shift online. Our priority remains investing for the long term to drive future growth in our core and emerging businesses."

Advertisers are still spending, he said, but they are spending less and driving harder bargains.

Schmidt claimed that Google is keeping a tight rein on spending, and had cut back on hiring new staff. In March the company announced its first ever large-scale layoffs and cut over 200 jobs in sales and marketing.

Google also announced that its top sales executive, Omid Kordestani, is to become senior adviser to Schmidt, and will be replaced by the current president of international operations Nikesh Arora.