国际英语新闻：Google profit jumps 18% in second quarter

FRANCISCO, July 16 (Xinhua) -- Despite the ongoing economic downturn, Google Inc. on Thursday said its profit climbed more than 18 percent in the second quarter ended on June 30.

    The Internet giant earned 1.48 billion U.S. dollars in the quarter, compared with 1.25 billion dollars in the same period a year earlier.

    The company's profit in the most recent quarter increased about4 percent from 1.42 billion dollars in the first three months this year.

    However, as a reflection of the continued difficult economic conditions, Google saw its sales growth slowing.

    Its revenues increased just 3 percent to 5.52 billion dollars over the year-ago period, down from the 6-percent growth in the first quarter this year.

    Paid clicks to ads on Google sites rose about 15 percent over the same quarter of 2008, but representing a decrease of 2 percent from the previous quarter.

    "Google had a very good quarter, especially given the continued macro-economic downturn," Eric Schmidt, the company's chief executive officer, said in a statement.

    "These results highlight the enduring strength of our business model and our responsible efforts to manage expenses in a way that puts us in a good position for the economic upturn, when it occurs," he added.