The search engine giant Google has hit $50bn in annual revenues for the first time in 2012 beating analysts’ expectations.

Net profit increased by 7 per cent to $2.89bn (£1.83bn) for the fourth-quarter of 2012 compared to the same period a year ago.

Larry Page, CEO of Google, said: “We ended 2012 with a strong quarter. And we hit $50bn in revenues for the first time last year - not a bad achievement in just a decade and a half. In today’s multi-screen world we face tremendous opportunities as a technology company focused on user benefit. It's an incredibly exciting time to be at Google.”

The Motorola Mobility subsidiary, which Google acquired in May 2012, reported losses in the fourth-quarter.

Sameet Sinha of research firm B Riley told the BBC: “Business looked really strong, especially from a profitability perspective - they really grew their margins in the core business, which is quite amazing. Most of that strength seems to be coming from international markets, which grew revenues quite substantially - up 23 per cent, year-over-year.”

Separately, IBM’s fourth-quarter earnings increased by 6 per cent to $5.8bn (2011: $5.5bn) due to positive performance of its internet-based computing division.

Meanwhile, Google shares grew by almost 5 per cent.