Google+ hits 90 million users, as firm posts record $10bn revenues

Google has announced that its Google+ social networking service now has 90 million users, as the firm unveiled fourth-quarter earnings in 2011 that topped $10bn, the most successful period in the company's history.

This helped the firm to a total yearly income of a staggering $37bn, which, after operating costs and taxes, came to $9.7bn in overall revenue, up from $8.5bn in 2010.

The figures underline a successful first 12 months in charge for chief executive Larry Page, who took over in January 2011 from Eric Schmidt, who now sits as the firm's executive chairman.

Page talked up the success of several of the firm's core products, including Google+, the growth of which he said proved the firm was making a positive impact on web users with its foray into the social networking market.

"I am excited about the growth of Android, Gmail and Google+, which now has 90 million users globally – well over double what I announced three months ago," Page said.

"By building a meaningful relationship with our users through Google+ we will create amazing experiences across our services. I'm very excited about what we can do in 2012 – there are tremendous opportunities to help users and grow our business."

The firm also revealed a notable increase in research and development spend, up from $3.7bn to $5.1bn in the past 12 months.

The successful financial performance of the firm came in spite of its $12.5bn acquisition of Motorola and the forfeit of $500m to the Department of Justice after an investigation into the placement of ads on its AdWords platform by Canadian online pharmacies.