(MENAFN- AFP) Google reported Thursday that its profit climbed to $3.35 billion in the first three months of the year as online ads drove revenue to nearly $14 billion."We had a very strong start to 2013, with $14.0 billion in revenue, up 31 percent year-on-year," said Google chief executive Larry Page.Google shares that ended the official Nasdaq trading day slightly down regained ground in after-hours trades to $772.50 after the earnings figures topped Wall Street expectations.Revenue for the quarter that ended March 31 was 31 percent higher than the same period last year, according to the California-based Internet giant.The number of paid clicks on ads posted at Google pages was 20 percent greater than those seen in the first quarter last year and up three percent from the final quarter of 2012.Meanwhile, in a closely watched figure, the cost paid per click by advertisers dropped four percent in a sign of the trend toward cheaper mobile ads.Revenue taken in at Motorola Mobility totaled $1.02 billion, according to Google.Google has been working to put its stamp on Motorola and confirmed last month that it would lay off some 1,200 employees, or more than 10 percent of its workforce.The latest cuts come on top of 4,000 layoffs announced last August at the unit that produces mobile phones.The layoffs aimed at restoring profitability to the division will reportedly affect workers in the United States, China and India.Google completed its $12.5 billion purchase of the Motorola unit -- which makes smartphones and other devices -- last May, eyeing both its mobile phone line, which uses Google's Android platform, and some 17,000 valuable patents.Motorola Mobility was created in 2011 when US-based Motorola Inc split the company into a mobile devices unit and a government and public safety division known as Motorola Solutions.Google has also been selling off chunks of Motorola Mobility, including the Home that specializes in video delivery, for some $2.35 billion.
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