Google shares crash after accidental release of results

Google, the company known for its vast trove of information, saw a public blunder send its share price crashing as shocked traders found it hard to digest the news of a 20 per cent slump in profits.

Wall Street had expected to have the latest update on the company's performance after the stock market closed. However, the figures flashed in a filing with American regulators. Financial printing firm RR Donnelly was blamed for the blunder.

Confirmation that the early release was not planned came in the introduction, which included, in bold letters, the line: "PENDING LARRY QUOTE."

The marker, immediately identified as a reference to commentary from Google's chief executive Larry Page,  soon appeared on the internet as pointing to a blunder.

Page, who made his first public appearance earlier this week in several months after reportedly suffering from an undisclosed ailment that led to losing his voice temporarily, had to later apologise for the snafu.

Investors, though made more of the figures than the embarrassment of premature release. The results had come in below expectations, both in terms of profits and revenues at the Silicon Valley behemoth from what the market had expected.