Gartner: Research, consulting revenue projected down in 2009

Gartner is feeling the squeeze of the economic downturn as research, consulting and events sales are projected to fall in 2009.

That outlook, provided on Gartner's fourth quarter earnings report, shows research revenue falling 3 percent to 6 percent from 2008 with consulting revenue falling 15 percent to 24 percent. Gartner said revenue from its events will fall 28 percent to 35 percent. 

Here's the breakdown on 2009:

For 2008, Gartner reported research revenue of $773.3 million, up 15 percent from 2007. Consulting revenue for 2008 was $347.4 million, up 7 percent from 2007. Events revenue for 2008 was $150 million, down 6 percent from 2007. 

Add it up and enterprise customers appear to be paring back on consulting and events, but still valuing research for the most part. 

Gartner's subscriptions and renewals are worth watching given the research firm has more than $400 million in debt and provides an indicator to how enterprises are valuing market intelligence. 

Overall, Gartner's fourth quarter results were a mixed bag. Gartner reported fourth quarter net income of $33.6 million with earnings per share of 35 cents, three pennies better than Wall Street estimates. Gartner's fourth quarter revenue was up 1 percent to $347.3 million. However, the company projected 2009 earnings of 63 cents to 87 cents a share. Analysts were expecting earnings of $1.02 a share. 

Here's a look at Gartner's backlog: