San Francisco, Jul 16 (DPA): Online search giant Google posted sharply higher revenue and profits Thursday compared to the same period last year and said it experienced strong growth in emerging businesses like mobile advertising.

The company said that its second quarter sales were $6.82 billion, a rise of 24 percent compared to the same period last year. Operating income was $2.37 billion, compared to $1.87 billion in the year ago quarter.

"Google had a strong second quarter," said Eric Schmidt, chief executive officer of Google.

"Solid growth in our core business and very strong growth in our emerging businesses drove 24 per cent revenue growth year over year. We saw strength in every major product area, as more and more traditional brand advertisers embraced search advertising and as large advertisers increasingly ran integrated campaigns across search, display, and mobile."

The company said 52 percent of its sales came from outside the US, compared to 53 percent last year. The company said it now employs 21,805 people worldwide, compared to 20,621 full time employees at the end of the first quarter.