Google's apps and cloud rake in $2.7 billion

Google's enterprise cloud and apps business and the Play Store grew 33 per cent year-on-year, to contribute $2.17 billion to parent company Alphabet's latest quarter.

Google's parent company Alphabet saw a boost to its quarterly earnings with an increase in revenues by 21.3 per cent to $21.5 billion, from $17.7 billion a year earlier.

Google itself posted revenue of $21.3 billion, up from $17.7 billion for Google last year.

The firm reported its fastest growth rate in two years thanks to a shift towards mobile and its associated advertising. Google makes up 99 per cent of Alphabet's business, with the remaining one per cent contributing $185 million to the firm's bottom line.

That one per cent comprises Google Fiber, Nest, and Verily. This part of the business also saw operational losses of $859 million, far greater than the $660 million it lost a year ago, marking the second straight quarter in which losses deepened.

Google CEO Sundar Pichai said in an earnings call that there was "an amazing energy" at Google right now.

"The strength of the quarter is about mobile. It's transformed the way people consume information, and Google's products have become a central and much-loved part of their experience," he said.

"Our investment in mobile now underlines everything that we do today, from Search and YouTube to Android and advertising. Mobile is the engine that drives our present. And now with our deep investments in machine learning and AI, we are building the engine that will drive our future."

Alphabet chief financial officer Ruth Porat said the results were "terrific" and reflected "the successful investments we've made over many years in rapidly expanding areas such as mobile and video."

"We continue to invest responsibly in support of our many compelling opportunities," Porat said in a statement

Alphabet increased its headcount to 66,575, an increase from 57,148 a year before. The company hired 2,460 workers in the last quarter.