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Google reported revenues of $2.25 billion, for the quarter ending 31 March - an increase of 79 per cent on the $1.26 billion of the same period in 2005 - and a profit of $592 million - an increase of 60 per cent on the $369 million of 2005. This generated earnings per share of $1.95. These figures are on a GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles) basis.

Wall Street welcomed these results, as opposed to three months ago, when there was disappointment over profit levels.

Breaking the revenues down into more specific categories, the company states that Google-owned sites generated $1.30 billion (58 per cent of total revenues), a 97 per cent increase over the

Showing its global reach, the company also notes that revenues from outside the United States contributed 42 per cent of the total, compared to 39 per cent in the first quarter of 2005.

Google is also filling up with all the data it's gathering and is gearing ahead for future expansion - outlining spending on data centres and campus facilities: 'We expect that the growth rate in capital expenditures in 2006 will be substantially greater than the revenue growth rate for the year,' the company states in its report. 'We expect the majority of investment to be focused on IT infrastructure including servers, networking equipment, and data centers, as well as real estate and campus facilities. '

'Google had an exceptional quarter with strong growth and profitability, from both Google properties and the network,' declared Google's CEO, Eric Schmidt. 'We are driving this growth through investments in our infrastructure and our people, product innovations that attract new users, and relationships with advertisers and partners around the world. The strength of our business model gives us the opportunity to invest in our business, allowing us to maintain and grow our market leadership.'

You can read the full results (PDF) on the Google website.