The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Gartner revenues, profits fall in Q3
STAMFORD — Consulting and research firm Gartner reported Tuesday a slight dip in revenues and a significant drop in profits for the past quarter, although company officials said they remain optimistic about longterm prospects.
Third-quarter revenues decreased nearly 1 percent year over year to about $995 million. Profits totaled $17 million compared with $41 million a year ago — a decline that reflected an approximately $45 million loss on the
“extinguishment” of debt.
“In the third quarter, we delivered strong performances in revenue, adjusted (earnings) and free cash flow,” Gartner CEO Gene Hall said in a statement. “We expect to deliver tremendous value to our clients which will drive long-term, sustained double-digit growth in cash flow for our shareholders.”
Among Gartner’s major businesses, quarterly revenues for research rose 6 percent to $893 million. Consulting revenues ticked down 4 percent to $89 million.
Returns for conferences plunged 80 percent to $13 million.
In March, the company announced that it was canceling or postponing all conferences that it had scheduled for April through August, in response to the coronavirus crisis. The company had estimated that it would miss out on a total of $180 million in conference revenues in the second and third quarters of this year.
To help offset the lost revenues, Gartner has said it will implement several programs that would save a total of at least $200 million if kept in place through the end of this year. Those initiatives include reductions to travel, new hires and capital expenditures.
Gartner, the No. 621 company in this year’s Fortune list, is headquartered at 56 Top Gallant Road in Stamford’s Waterside section. In the first quarter of this year, it employed about 1,650, according to the most recent data from the city’s Office of Economic Development.