Google gave a rosy outlook on its various forays into the mobile space during its first-quarter results despite low sales estimates of the Nexus One and rumors that the FTC may block its AdMob acquisition.
Google CFO Patrick Pichette said the Nexus One was a “profitable business,” according to an earnings call transcript provided by Seeking Alpha.
The company refused to disclose how many Nexus One handsets have been sold, but Google engineering chief Jeff Huber said the company was “very happy” with the uptake of the device.
Estimates by Flurry pegged sales of the Nexus One at just 135,000 within the first 74 days the device was on the market. By comparison, 1 million iPhones were shipped in the same amount of time when it came on the market.
Google also reiterated its earlier comments about its acquisition of mobile advertising firm AdMob. Speculation that the FTC may block the deal has swirled since the acquisition was announced in November 2009.
“[Mobile advertising] is incredibly competitive and that is why we believe we are very positive about making this transaction happen,” said Pichette. “The case is on our side.”
Google made $1.96 billion in the first quarter ended March 31 on a 23 percent increase in sales, which hit $6.77 billion compared to $5.51 billion last year.
Despite the sales increase, Google’s stock took a hit in morning trading, falling almost 5 percent to $566.19 per share.