Spending spree, strong dollar weigh on Google results

San Francisco

GOOGLE Inc is ramping up spending to invest in new technologies and fend off competition on mobile devices, even as its maturing Web-advertising business posted quarterly profit and sales that fell short of estimates.

Fourth-quarter profit, excluding some items, was US$6.88 a share on revenue of US$14.5 billion, Google said in a statement on Thursday, compared with analysts' average projections for US$7.11 and US$14.7 billion. Expenses jumped as Google added more staff and real estate, while currency fluctuations dented revenue.