Google parent Alphabet on Thursday reported strong gains in quarterly results, beating most market forecast despite rising costs for its "moonshot" efforts.

Alphabet reported a 29 percent jump in quarterly profit to $5.4 billion, while revenue jumped 22 percent compared with a year ago to $24.75 billion.

"Our excellent results represent a terrific start to 2017," chief financial officer Ruth Porat said.

"We clearly continue to benefit from our ongoing investments in product innovation and have great momentum in our new businesses across Alphabet."

The Google segment delivered the overwhelming majority of revenues for the company -- or $24.5 billion.

The so-called "other bets," which include smart home devices, self-driving cars and life sciences, took in $244 million in revenue but delivered an operating loss of $855 million, Alphabet said.

The stronger-than-expected results helped lift Alphabet shares more than four percent in after-hours trade on Wall Street.

The results did not appear to show a major impact of an ad boycott of Google's YouTube earlier this year after revelations that programmed ads were placed alongside videos showing hateful content.

Porat told a conference call that "YouTube revenues continued to grow at a significant rate driven primarily by video advertising."

Overall ad revenues for Google rose 19 percent to $21.4 billion in the quarter.

Google has promised new efforts to match advertisers with appropriate content, using artificial intelligence, in response to complaints.

Sundar Pichai, chief of Google, cited "fantastic momentum" for a variety of products including its Google Assistant, the smart home device that competes with Amazon's Alexa-powered speakers.

Pichai said the device is one element in a strategy focusing on artificial intelligence, or machine learning.

"Advances in machine learning are helping us make many Google products better," he said.

- A patient approach -

Company co-founder and chief executive Larry Page said in a letter to shareholders Thursday he is pleased with the direction under the new corporate structure, which separates Google from its "moonshot" operations.

"With the change to Alphabet, oversight has been easier because of increased visibility," he wrote.

"We have streamlined efforts where it made sense and in other areas we have seen places to double down. I also think we have learned a lot about how to set up new companies with a structure for success."

Page added that "we are taking a patient approach to investing our capital, especially significant uses. We're not going to invest if we don't see great opportunities and we feel like our track record for picking some important efforts long before others is pretty good."

He said the company is benefitting from efforts on artificial intelligence developed by the Google Brain and DeepMind operations.

"We were early in machine learning and are already seeing significant dividends coming out," he said.

"Many of the Alphabet companies are already using this technology and are planning to use it even more."

He said he and co-founder Sergey Brin "are having a good time looking for new opportunities and managing and scaling our existing efforts."

Under its new structure, Alphabet is seeking to expand beyond its role as a search engine that provides advertising linked to queries.

Last year, Google took on rivals Apple, Samsung and Amazon in a new push into hardware, launching premium-priced, in-house designed Pixel smartphones and a slew of other devices showcasing artificial intelligence (AI) prowess.

The group also is selling its Google Assistant which aims to compete with Amazon's Alexa-powered devices as a hub for the smart home, and has been working to become the platform for some connected cars.

Amazon delivers strong profits, shares rally
San Francisco (AFP) April 27, 2017 - US online giant Amazon on Thursday delivered stronger-than-expected financial results for the first quarter, pushing shares higher.

Profit rose 41 percent from a year ago to $724 million, on revenues growing 23 percent to $35.7 billion.

The results fueled a 3.5 percent jump in after-hours trade in shares of Amazon, which has leveraged its position as an online retailer to push into streaming video, cloud computing and other segments as it expands its global footprint.

Amazon founder and chief executive Jeff Bezos used the earnings report to highlight the company's efforts to expand in India.

"Our India team is moving fast and delivering for customers and sellers," Bezos said.

"We're grateful that customers are responding -- Amazon.in is the most visited and the fastest growing marketplace in India. It's still Day 1 for e-commerce in India, and I assure you that we'll keep investing in technology and infrastructure while working hard to invent on behalf of our customers and small and medium businesses in India."

A big chunk of growth came from Amazon Web Services, the huge cloud-computing unit that powers internet services for business.

AWS revenue grew 43 percent to $3.7 billion, pulling in operating profits of $890 million.

Amazon did not break down revenues for its streaming service, which rivals Netflix and is now available in some 200 markets.

Nor did it offer details on its Prime subscription service, which offers free delivery for many items and is linked to video, music and other benefits.

But a recent report by Consumer Intelligence Research Partners said Amazon Prime now has 80 million US members, who spend on average about $1,300 per year.

That compares with an estimated 58 million US members a year earlier.

Amazon also has been pushing into artificial intelligence and home automation with its Alexa-powered devices which serve as digital assistants.

Alexa was one of the big winners at this year's Consumer Electronics Show, cropping up in TVs, cars, fridges -- you name it -- in what appeared to be a breakthrough moment for the smart technology.

Amazon hit another milestone this year with three Academy Awards for its original movie Manchester by the Sea, and it won the right to stream Thursday night National Football League games in the upcoming season.

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US regulator vows to roll back 'net neutrality' rules
Washington (AFP) April 26, 2017
A top US regulatory official on Wednesday unveiled plans to roll back so-called "net neutrality" rules that require broadband firms to treat all online traffic equally. The announcement by Federal Communications Commission chairman Ajit Pai, appointed by President Donald Trump, signals a new round of wrangling over internet regulatory policy by seeking to reverse rules aimed at avoiding the ... read more

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