Google has posted revenues of $12.9bn (£8.1bn) for Q4, 2012, up by 22 per cent year-on-year.

67 per cent of these revenues came from Google-owned sites (an increase of 18 per cent year-on-year), 27 per cent from partner sites (up 19 per cent), and the final six per cent were made up by other revenues .

“We hit $50bn in revenues for the first time last year – not a bad achievement in just a decade and a half,” said Google CEO Larry Page. “In today’s multiscreen world, we face tremendous opportunities as a technology company focused on user benefit. It’s an incredibly exciting time to be at Google.”

The search giant also reported $3.4bn in GAAP operating income for the quarter, 24 per cent of revenues. While its total revenues were lower in Q4, 2011, profit was actually higher a year earlier – posting income of $3.5bn, equivalent to 33 per cent of revenues.

The results exclude the Motorola Home business, which brought in revenues of $1.5bn during Q4, as Google began the process of selling it back in December – something which will obviously bring in a big chunk of income, and a major return on its investment in the whole Motorola business.

Over the quarter, the cost of aggregate paid clicks increased by 24 per cent year-on-year, and by nine per cent quarter-on-quarter.

Average cost-per-click, meanwhile, decreased six per cent year-on-year, but increased by two over the previous quarter.

Traffic acquisition costs were $3.1bn (25 per cent of advertising revenues) compared to $2.45bn in Q4, 2011 (24 per cent).