Google’s Q2 earnings rise 24% but miss target

The letdown announced on Thursday stemmed from Google’s expanding payroll and a run-up in the US dollar that has been driven by fears that the euro will crumble if governments in Greece, Spain, Portugal and Italy default on their perilously high debts

San Francisco: Google Inc.’s second-quarter earnings missed analysts’ target as higher expenses and the fallout from the European debt crisis dragged down the Internet search leader.

The letdown announced on Thursday stemmed from Google’s expanding payroll and a run-up in the US dollar that has been driven by fears that the euro will crumble if governments in Greece, Spain, Portugal and Italy default on their perilously high debts.

The worries hurt Google because about one-third of the company’s revenue comes from Europe, and customer payments made with the euro translated into fewer dollars than a year ago. Even so, the currency squeeze wasn’t as severe as some analysts anticipated.

Meanwhile, Google is spending more to maintain its commanding lead in Internet search while it also tries to diversify by developing products in other promising niches such as online video and mobile devices. To help achieve its goals, the company added nearly 1,200 employees in the second quarter to end June with more than 21,800 workers.

Despite the rising expenses, Google’s net income rose at a fast clip as second-quarter revenue came in slightly above analysts’ forecasts. But the earnings growth wasn’t quite as robust as analysts had hoped, a factor that seemed to amplify investor concerns already weighing on Google’s stock price.

Google shares fell $20.49, or more than 4%, in extended trading Thursday after the release of results. Earlier, the company finished the regular session at $494.02, up $2.68.

Although Google remains the Internet’s most profitable company, investors have been fretting about signs of decelerating growth amid stiffer competition from Apple Inc., Facebook and Microsoft Corp. On top of those challenges, a showdown over online censorship in China that has muddied Google’s future prospects in the world’s most populous country.

Thursday’s report offered some encouraging news, though.

In a positive sign for the overall economy, marketers were willing to pay more for the online ads that generate virtually all of Google’s income, and people are clicking on the commercial messages more frequently. Those trends provide another indication that more companies and shoppers are feeling a little better as they recover from the worst economic downturn in more than 70 years.

“We are really pleased with the way we are performing in this economy,” Patrick Pichette, Google’s chief financial officer, said during a Thursday conference call with analysts. “That’s why we feel confident about the future.”

Google, which is based in Mountain View, earned $1.84 billion, or $5.71 per share, in the April-June period, up 24% from $1.48 billion, or $4.66 per share, a year ago.

If not for expenses covering employee stock compensation, Google said it would have made $6.45 per share. That figure was below the average estimate of $6.52 per share among analysts polled by Thomson Reuters.

Revenue climbed 24% to $6.82 billion, from $5.52 billion a year earlier. After subtracting commissions paid to its ad partners, Google’s revenue stood at $5.09 billion about $10 million above analyst projections.

In other key figure watched closely by investors, the number of revenue-generating clicks on Google’s ads in the second quarter increased 15% from the same time last year. The gain is in the same range as the increases in the past year.

The average price per ad click in the second quarter edged up 4% from last year, but it’s slower than the growth seen during the previous two quarters.

After clamping down on its costs most of last year, Google has been spending more freely because management believes the U.S. economy is steadily rebounding, with electronic commerce and the rest of the technology sector leading the charge.

Google has brought in nearly 2,000 employees during the first half of this year, through both recruitment and a flurry of mostly small acquisitions. The company’s spending on data centers and other projects known as capital expenditures totaled $476 million, more than tripling from the same time last year.

Pichette said the company plans to continue investing in more employees and technology as it tries to position itself to take advantage of an improving economy.

To help pay for its ambitions, Google said Thursday that it will take on significant debt for the first time in its six years as a public company, even though it has $30 billion in cash. The company’s board of directors approved a plan to borrow up to $3 billion.

Economic growth put banks on profit path

Bank credit in India grew an annual 21.7% in early July, according to RBI data, in tune with a rise in business and consumer confidence, from a low 9.7% last October and compared with 16.7% at end-March

Mumbai:Leading Indian banks are set to post higher quarterly profits on strong corporate and retail loan demand, and a rebounding economy will bring down consumer defaults and improve their asset quality.
State Bank of India, the country’s top lender, and rivals ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank are seeing a pick-up in demand for loans on the back of improving business and consumer confidence in an economy forecast to grow about 8.5% in 2010-11.

“We are seeing a revival in the capital expenditure cycle and the confidence level is rising,” said Rakesh Rawal, head of private wealth management at Anand Rathi. “These will ensure that credit growth remains on the upswing.”

A rate hike by the central bank earlier this month to counter double-digit inflation and expectations it will raise rates again at its scheduled policy on 27 July is unlikely to impact loan demand.

“The liquidity is going to be enough in the system. There may be an upward bias in interest rates but the rise is not going to be rampant,” Rawal said. “The economic growth itself will create opportunities for the banking sector.”

Analysts said banks’ loan growth in April-June, the fiscal first quarter, would have been helped by mobile carriers’ scramble to secure funds to pay for 3G spectrum after winning an auction for high-speed radiowaves.

The government had raised $14.3 billion from the auction, nearly double the target.

Lower bond yields

Bank credit in India grew an annual 21.7% in early July, according to the central bank’s data, in tune with a rise in business and consumer confidence, from a low 9.7% last October and compared with 16.7% at end-March.

Brokerage Motilal Oswal said that revival in loan growth was likely due to higher capital requirements by corporates and increased investments on infrastructure such as roads and ports.

The central bank sees non-food credit growth of banks at 20% in 2010-11, still a far cry from growth rates of above 30 percent in the pre-crisis period.

Banks are likely to report a reduction in bad loans with the pickup in industrial growth, but lenders such as government-run State Bank of India may raise the provision for such debts to meet a revised central bank directive.

The 10-yr benchmark bond yield fell 30 basis points in the June quarter, which is likely to result in gains for banks that are required to hold at least 25% of their deposits in government securities. Bond yields move inversely to bond prices.

Shares of State Bank of India, which the market values at $33 billion, are up 7.5% this year. ICICI and HDFC are up nearly 1% and 21%, respectively, while the main market has gained about 3%.

Go back in time to learn how to manage money!

Ever heard of your dad or grand dad take a loan for a vacation or for that matter for a festive and high spending involved occasion like a wedding? Do you recall them buying clothes because retail therapy helped their blues every other month? They always preferred quality over quantity on anything purchased be it the furniture, utensils, clothes or home accessories.

We are a transition generation trying to find a balance between retaining our traditional values and also finding a way to ape the west in terms of lifestyle changes. Well, one of the areas that seems to face marked change due to this shift is that of personal finance. Managing money has been a constant challenge for today’s young generation who have upped the antennae on the spending. They are more brand conscious than any generation before has ever been, the wardrobe has 10 or more different styles of attire for every occasion, vacations abroad are common, buying a house and a car by availing loans is also common. Educational loans and vacation loans are also on the rise.


CONSERVATIVE WITH LOANS AND EXPENDITURE

Ever heard of your dad or grand dad take a loan for a vacation or for that matter for a festive and high spending involved occasion like a wedding? Do you recall them buying clothes because retail therapy helped their blues every other month? In fact the average person belonging to the previous generation would spend money on clothes for festivals, weddings or periodically once or twice a year. They always preferred quality over quantity on anything purchased be it the furniture, utensils, clothes or home accessories.


LIVING LIFE KING SIZE!


This is not the case in today’s generation. They like living life to the full. What is the point in hoarding away money for a future which is as unpredictable as the weather! They would rather enjoy themselves to the hilt, while the party lasts! Stress is a huge factor that contribute to these drastic lifestyle changes one is a witness of now. Today’s generation work very hard and play very hard. They want to experience everything in a short span of time. They are impatient for goals to be reached and in the hurry to reach their destinations they forget to savour the simple pleasures of life that our parents and grandparents had all the time for. They lived within the incomes they received and saved as much as they could. Their income expense statements showed more cash inflows rather than outflows.


However, the younger generation argues on this aspect. We have but one life and it is too short, so we need to pack all the action in before old age sets in. What’s the point in trying to spend on entertainment, travel, food, looks and grooming with creaky joints and false teeth.


SLAVING AND SAVING LIKE ANTS!


There sure is a point there. Our dads and grand dads lived like an ant generation. Slaving away day after day in the same environment, in the same job for years together, stowing away finances in different debt instruments to accumulate and serve their purpose, when they are old. Of course some invested it in land, stocks, gold etc. as well, which was left to their discretion and knowledge in such matters. The point then is to step back and look at both the lifestyles. Take the good out of both and ensure that our life is to the fullest, with the best of both worlds.

TAKING A FEW LEAVES FROM THE BOOKS OF OUR PARENTS AND GRANDPARENTS:

1. Ensure that there is an emergency fund stowed away for a rainy day. A job loss, recession, illness etc. could prove to be a temporary setback for which you may incur additional expenses best managed with this emergency fund.


2. Keep impulse purchases to a minimum. Indulging in branded items for certain purchase choices like consumer durables and other long lasting products is fine. However, it does not mean that you should go overboard with being brand conscious all the time. In case of clothes, look out for the sales season where you avail discounts, shop for quality over quantity, which is any day better. However, if you are the kind who loves a lot of variety and like to outgrow your liking for the same kind of clothes over a period of time, indulge in less expensive clothes with a comparatively lesser shelf life, which can be discarded and refilled with other choices.

3. Don’t live life king size all the time, try and bring it down a few notches most of the time. For eg. Instead of planning a vacation that is out of the continent, you could try a vacation spot in Asia or India, which will bring the same benefits in terms of relaxation and fun and yet be less cumbersome on your purse strings.


4. When there is a boom, there is bound to be crash around the corner. So hold your horses and don’t overindulge in luxuries, tomorrow may not work out as planned, nevertheless it is wise to be prepared for it, even if it is bound to take you by surprise. A little foresight could save you from a load of trouble.


5. Take care to have a mixed portfolio with investments in debts and equities apart from an emergency fund and other savings.


6.Debt counsellors advise 60% of your income should be set aside for savings and investments and 40% should be able to cover your living expenses as well as any debt expenses you might have incurred.


7. Use your credit card judiciously or don’t use it at all and keep a tab of your debts to ensure they are safely manageable. In fact do not take a loan unless it fits it well with the rest of your financial goals and you can safely repay it without any stress to your budget.


By all means enjoy life, but in moderation. Balance is the key element to have the best of both worlds. A little bit of this and a little bit of that make for a wholesome, balanced life sprinkled with variety.