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Internet search engine Google is feeling the pain of recession after seeing years of unbridled growth come crashing to a end.
The US firm reported first-quarter revenues of $5.51 billion (£3.7 billion), up 6% from a year ago but down 3% from the fourth quarter of 2008.
It was the first quarter-on-quarter decline since it was set up in 1998 and prompted chief executive Eric Schmidt to admit Google was struggling.
“No company is recession-proof,” he said. “We are in uncharted territory economically and Google is, absolutely, feeling the impact.”
It marked a change of tune from the beginning of the downturn in late 2007 when Google seemed largely untroubled by the prospect of recession. The fall in revenues came amid mounting criticism of Google's operations, including concerns over access to personal information and apparent intrusion into everyday life such as the Street View mapping service.
Schmidt said the results were impressive given the recession and downturn in advertising spending. Google makes money from advertising and users clicking through to commercial sites.
Profits came in ahead of expectations on Wall Street and in the City, up 9% from a year earlier at $1.42 billion.
“Users are still searching but buying less,” said Schmidt.
