Gartner’s 4Q profit drops 24 percent on declining revenue

Gartner’s 4Q profit drops 24 percent

STAMFORD, Conn. — Gartner Inc. posted a 24 percent drop in fourth-quarter earnings Tuesday, as revenue generated by its information technology research declined.

The company, which focuses on the information technology market, earned $25.7 million, or 26 cents per share, compared with $33.6 million, or 35 cents per share, in the same quarter a year ago. The most recent quarter included 2 cents per share in one-time expenses related to acquisitions.

Revenue fell 5 percent to $328.8 million.

The results were better than Wall Street expected. Analysts, who typically exclude one-time costs from their estimates, predicted earnings of 26 cents per share and revenue of $317.7 million.

Gartner projected earnings for 2010 of 74 cents to 87 cents per share, or 91 cents to $1.03 per share excluding one-time charges. It expects revenue of between $1.25 billion and $1.29 billion.

Full-year earnings were $83 million, or 85 cents per share, down 20 percent from $103.9 million, or $1.05 per share, the year before. Revenue fell 11 percent to $1.14 billion.

Analysts were looking for 2009 results of 94 cents per share and revenue of $1.23 billion.

Gartner shares were down 13 cents to $20.73 in morning trading.