 Google has long been pretty cagey about the financials behind its Android mobile OS and data that has emerged during the last week could give us an indication why : it's been losing cash from Day One.
In the legal action between Oracle and Google in which Oracle claims Google, in its Android platform, infringes on copyrights and patents related to Java a judge and jurors are attempting to work out what kind of damages might be given to Oracle. That case took a turn for the precise yesterday, when Judge William Alsup ( as reported by Reuters ) read out excerpts of Google documents that determined the platform produced a net loss for each quarter of 2010 and "a huge loss for the entire year".
He also noted that Android generated around $97.7 million in cash in Q1 of 2010.
The jury commenced their deliberations on Monday, and if they cannot come to a unanimous call, then the trial will proceed to its 2nd phase, concerning patents, with the first phase on copyright subsequently facing a retrial.
What quantity of cash Google has or has not made is a crucial part of the case as it can often be used to decide how much Oracle can potentially receive in damages if it wins the case although Oracle says that even though Android is making a loss, this shouldn't have any bearing on the case.
Ironically, if Google can show it's not making much money out of Android, then that will mean it has less culpability. Alternatively, that difficult performance might also become a lever by which critics might begin to ask why Google is pursuing a business that is going nowhere financially.
Figures from Google documents from 2010 made public earlier in the trial showed clearly that Google expected a loss of $113 million in 2010 from Android and that it anticipated to have profits of $64 million in 2011 ; $248 million in 2012 ; and $548 in 2013. The overwhelming majority of that cash will be coming from advertising, with small but growing %s also coming from app sales. Tags: Google SUCKS
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