Gartner Reports Financial Results for Third Quarter 2012 - Gartner (NYSE:IT)

See “Non-GAAP Financial Measures” below for a discussion of Normalized EBITDA and Free Cash Flow.

Capital expenditures include approximately $16.0 million of total projected payments expected in 2012 related to the renovation of our Stamford headquarters facility, which are contractually reimbursable from the landlord. The accounting impact of these renovation payments increases both cash flow from operations and capital expenditures (investing activities) by the same amount and as a result has no net impact on Free Cash Flow.

STAMFORD, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Gartner, Inc. IT, the leading provider of research and analysis on the global information technology industry, today reported results for third quarter 2012 and updated its projection for full year 2012 revenues and reiterated its outlook for Normalized EBITDA, EPS, and cash flows.

Total revenue was $374.4 million for third quarter 2012, up 8% compared to third quarter 2011. Total revenue increased 12% excluding the impact of foreign exchange. Third quarter 2012 net income was $31.4 million, an increase of 3% over third quarter 2011. Normalized EBITDA was $68.0 million in third quarter 2012, an increase of 9% over third quarter 2011. Diluted income per share was $0.33 in third quarter 2012 compared to $0.31 in third quarter 2011. Diluted Income Per Share Excluding Acquisition Adjustments, which excludes the impact of acquisition-related adjustments, was $0.35 per share for third quarter 2012 and $0.31 per share for third quarter 2011. See “Non-GAAP Financial Measures" below for a discussion of Normalized EBITDA and Diluted Income Per Share Excluding Acquisition Adjustments.

For the nine months ended September 30, 2012, total revenue was $1,141.1 million, an increase of 10% over the 2011 period. Excluding the impact of foreign exchange, revenues increased 12%. Net income was $107.1 million in the nine months ended September 30, 2012, an increase of 17% over the same period in 2011. Normalized EBITDA was $218.2 million in the 2012 period, an increase of 12% over 2011. Diluted income per share was $1.12 in 2012 compared to $0.92 in 2011, an increase of 22%. Diluted Income Per Share Excluding Acquisition Adjustments was $1.16 in 2012 and $0.96 in 2011.

Gene Hall, Gartner's chief executive officer, commented, “We continued our trend of delivering consistent, double-digit growth in the third quarter. Revenue, contract value, Normalized EBITDA and EPS were again consistent with our long-term expectations. The increases in our revenue and contract value, in addition to maintaining key operating metrics such as client retention at or near all-time highs, illustrate both the strong value we provide our clients and the sizeable market opportunity for our services. As we look ahead to the final quarter of 2012, we remain excited about the opportunity we see in the market and expect to deliver another year of double-digit growth as measured by our key business metrics.”

Business Segment Highlights

Research

Third quarter 2012 revenue was $284.0 million, up 11% compared to third quarter 2011. Excluding the impact of foreign exchange, Research revenue increased 14%. The gross contribution margin was 68% for both quarters. Contract value was up 14% on an FX neutral basis at September 30, 2012 compared to September 30, 2011, and 13% as reported. Client and wallet retention rates for third quarter 2012 were 83% and 99%, respectively, compared to 82% and 100% in the third quarter 2011.

Consulting

Revenue for third quarter 2012 was $71.7 million, an increase of 1% compared to third quarter 2011. Adjusted for the impact of foreign exchange, revenue increased 4%. Gross contribution margin for third quarter 2012 was 34%. Third quarter 2012 utilization was 64%. Billable headcount was 499 as of September 30, 2012, and backlog was $106.1 million.

Events

Revenue for third quarter 2012 was $18.6 million, a decrease of 2% compared to third quarter 2011, due to changes in the events calendar and foreign exchange impact. Excluding the foreign exchange impact, Events segment revenues increased 2%. Results in this segment were adversely affected by the move of two large events that had been held in the third quarter of 2011, and will be held this year in the fourth quarter 2012. On a same-events and FX neutral basis, revenues increased 17% when comparing the 12 events held in the third quarter 2012 with their performance in 2011. Gross contribution margin was 24% in third quarter 2012. The Company held a total of 14 events with 5,566 attendees in the third quarter 2012, compared to 16 events and 6,676 attendees in third quarter 2011.

Cash Flow and Balance Sheet Highlights

The Company generated almost $209 million of operating cash flow in the nine months ended September 30, 2012, an increase of 18% over the same period in 2011 and the highest nine months' operating cash flow in the Company's history. Additions to property, equipment and leasehold improvements (“Capital Expenditures”) totaled $30.8 million in the nine months ended September 30, 2012, which included $11.5 million of Stamford headquarters renovation expenditures that are reimbursable by the facility landlord.

At September 30, 2012, the Company had over $255 million of cash and $354 million of borrowing capacity on its revolving credit facility. Through September 30, 2012, the Company used approximately $89 million of cash to repurchase shares and $10 million of cash on a net basis to complete the Ideas International Limited acquisition.

Financial Outlook for 2012

The Company has adjusted its revenue guidance as per the table below. Projected diluted earnings per share, Normalized EBITDA, and cash flow guidance remain unchanged. As revised, the Company's full year 2012 guidance is as follows:


Projected Revenue
($ in millions)	2012 Projected				% Change
Research	$1,130	–	1,140		12	% – 13%
Consulting	310	–	320		1	% – 4%
Events	167	–	177		12	% – 19%
Total Revenue	$1,607	–	1,637		9	% – 11%

Projected Earnings and Cash Flow
($ in millions, except per share data)	2012 Projected				% Change
Diluted Earnings Per Share	$1.63	–	$1.79		17	% – 29%
Normalized EBITDA⁽¹⁾	$315	–	$335		13	% – 20%

Operating Cash Flow ⁽²⁾	$285	–	305		12	% – 19%
Capital Expenditures ⁽²⁾	(46)	–	(48	)
Free Cash Flow ⁽¹⁾	$239	–	257		12	% – 20%

Conference Call Information

Gartner has scheduled a conference call at 8:30 a.m. eastern time on Friday, November 2, 2012 to discuss the Company's financial results. The conference call will be available via the Internet by accessing the Company's website at http://investor.gartner.com or by dial-in. The U.S. dial-in number is 888-713-4205 and the international dial-in number is 617-213-4862 and the participant passcode is 87196156. The question and answer session of the conference call will be open to investors and analysts only. A replay of the webcast will be available for approximately 90 days following the call.

About Gartner

Gartner, Inc. IT is the world's leading information technology research and advisory company. Gartner delivers the technology-related insight necessary for its clients to make the right decisions, every day. From CIOs and senior IT leaders in corporations and government agencies, to business leaders in high-tech and telecom enterprises and professional services firms, to technology investors, Gartner is a valuable partner to clients in over 12,600 distinct organizations. Through the resources of Gartner Research, Gartner Consulting and Gartner Events, Gartner works with every client to research, analyze and interpret the business of IT within the context of their individual role. Founded in 1979, Gartner is headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, U.S.A., and has approximately 5,400 associates, including almost 1,400 research analysts and consultants, and clients in 85 countries. For more information, visit www.gartner.com.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

Normalized EBITDA: Represents operating income excluding depreciation, accretion on obligations related to excess facilities, amortization, stock-based compensation expense, and acquisition related adjustments. We believe Normalized EBITDA is an important measure of our recurring operations as it excludes items that may not be indicative of our core operating results. Investors are cautioned that Normalized EBITDA is not a financial measure defined under generally accepted accounting principles and as a result is considered a non-GAAP financial measure. We provide this measure to enhance the user's overall understanding of the Company's current financial performance and the Company's prospects for the future. It should not be construed as an alternative to any other measure of performance determined in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles.

Diluted Income Per Share Excluding Acquisition Adjustments: Represents diluted income per share excluding certain adjustments directly related to acquisitions, which consists of amortization of identifiable intangibles, non-recurring acquisition and integration charges such as legal, consulting, severance and other costs, and non-cash fair value adjustments on pre-acquisition deferred revenues. We believe Diluted Income Per Share Excluding Acquisition Adjustments is an important measure of our recurring operations as it excludes items that may not be indicative of our core operating results.

Free Cash Flow: Represents cash provided by operating activities plus cash acquisition and integration payments less additions to property, equipment and leasehold improvements (“Capital Expenditures”). We believe that Free Cash Flow is an important measure of the recurring cash generated by the Company's core operations that is available to be used to repurchase stock, repay debt obligations and invest in future growth through new business development activities or acquisitions.

Safe Harbor Statement

Statements contained in this press release regarding the Company's growth and prospects, projected 2012 financial results and all other statements in this release other than recitation of historical facts are forward-looking statements (as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995). Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results to be materially different. Such factors include, but are not limited to, the following: our ability to maintain and expand our products and services; our ability to expand or retain our customer base; our ability to grow or sustain revenue from individual customers; our ability to attract and retain a professional staff of research analysts and consultants as well as experienced sales personnel upon whom we are dependent; our ability to achieve and effectively manage growth, including our ability to integrate acquisitions and consummate future acquisitions; our ability to pay our debt; our ability to achieve continued customer renewals and achieve new contract value, backlog and deferred revenue growth in light of competitive pressures; our ability to carry out our strategic initiatives and manage associated costs; our ability to successfully compete with existing competitors and potential new competitors; our ability to enforce or protect our intellectual property rights; additional risks associated with international operations including foreign currency fluctuations; the impact of restructuring and other charges on our businesses and operations; general economic conditions; risks associated with the creditworthiness and budget cuts of governments and agencies; and other factors described under “Risk Factors” contained in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2011 which can be found on Gartner's website at www.investor.gartner.com and the SEC's website at www.sec.gov. Forward-looking statements included herein speak only as of the date hereof and Gartner disclaims any obligation to revise or update such statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events or circumstances.


GARTNER, INC.
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations
(Unaudited; in thousands, except per share amounts)

	Three Months Ended					Nine Months Ended
	September 30,					September 30,
	2012		2011			2012		2011
Revenues:
Research	$	284,048	$	255,979	11%	$	836,970	$	749,429	12%
Consulting		71,731		70,815	1%		222,970		219,407	2%
Events		18,627		18,990	-2%		81,119		72,058	13%
Total revenues		374,406		345,784	8%		1,141,059		1,040,894	10%
Costs and expenses:
Cost of services and product development		151,143		142,696	6%		458,853		428,473	7%
Selling, general and administrative		164,888		148,461	11%		492,627		442,891	11%
Depreciation		6,301		6,638	-5%		18,378		19,143	-4%
Amortization of intangibles		1,362		739	84%		3,029		5,788	-48%
Acquisition and integration charges		944		-	100%		2,126		-	100%
Total costs and expenses		324,638		298,534	9%		975,013		896,295	9%
Operating income		49,768		47,250	5%		166,046		144,599	15%
Interest expense, net		(2,209)		(2,282)	-3%		(6,557)		(7,863)	-17%
Other expense, net		(748)		(541)	38%		(1,802)		(1,494)	21%
Income before income taxes		46,811		44,427	5%		157,687		135,242	17%
Provision for income taxes		15,436		13,963	11%		50,607		43,364	17%
Net income	$	31,375	$	30,464	3%	$	107,080	$	91,878	17%

Income per common share:
Basic	$	0.34	$	0.32	6%	$	1.15	$	0.95	21%
Diluted	$	0.33	$	0.31	6%	$	1.12	$	0.92	22%

Weighted average shares outstanding:
Basic		93,522		96,057	-3%		93,429		96,462	-3%
Diluted		95,611		98,259	-3%		95,791		99,467	-4%


BUSINESS SEGMENT DATA
(Unaudited; in thousands)

			Direct		Gross		Contribution
	Revenue		Expense		Contribution		Margin

Three Months Ended 9/30/12
Research	$	284,048	$	90,508	$	193,540	68%
Consulting		71,731		47,351		24,380	34%
Events		18,627		14,116		4,511	24%
TOTAL	$	374,406	$	151,975	$	222,431	59%

Three Months Ended 9/30/11
Research	$	255,979	$	82,364	$	173,615	68%
Consulting		70,815		46,357		24,458	35%
Events		18,990		13,437		5,553	29%
TOTAL	$	345,784	$	142,158	$	203,626	59%

Nine Months Ended 9/30/12
Research	$	836,970	$	265,423	$	571,547	68%
Consulting		222,970		143,084		79,886	36%
Events		81,119		48,252		32,867	41%
TOTAL	$	1,141,059	$	456,759	$	684,300	60%

Nine Months Ended 9/30/11
Research	$	749,429	$	243,009	$	506,420	68%
Consulting		219,407		140,587		78,820	36%
Events		72,058		43,525		28,533	40%
TOTAL	$	1,040,894	$	427,121	$	613,773	59%


SELECTED STATISTICAL DATA

	September 30,			September 30,
	2012			2011
Research contract value	$	1,174,700	(a)	$	1,035,926	(a)
Research client retention		83%			82%
Research wallet retention		99%			100%
Research client organizations		12,612			11,770
Consulting backlog	$	106,100	(a)	$	92,887	(a)
Consulting--quarterly utilization		64%			61%
Consulting billable headcount		499			482
Consulting--average annualized revenue
per billable headcount	$	415	(a)	$	404	(a)
Events--number of events for the quarter		14			16
Events--attendees for the quarter		5,566			6,676


(a) Dollars in thousands.


SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION (in thousands, except per share amounts)

Reconciliation - Operating income to Normalized EBITDA (a):

	Three Months Ended				Nine Months Ended
	September 30,				September 30,
	2012		2011		2012		2011
Net income	$	31,375	$	30,464	$	107,080	$	91,878
Interest expense, net		2,209		2,282		6,557		7,863
Other expense, net		748		541		1,802		1,494
Tax provision		15,436		13,963		50,607		43,364
Operating income	$	49,768	$	47,250	$	166,046	$	144,599

Normalizing adjustments:
Stock-based compensation expense (b)		9,219		7,757		28,021		24,750
Depreciation, accretion, and amortization (c)		7,712		7,442		21,569		25,287
Acquisition and integration adjustments (d)		1,320		-		2,583		-
Normalized EBITDA	$	68,019	$	62,449	$	218,219	$	194,636

(a)		Normalized EBITDA is based on GAAP operating income adjusted for certain normalizing adjustments.

(b)		Consists of charges for stock-based compensation awards.

(c)		Includes depreciation expense, accretion on excess facilities accruals, and amortization of intangibles.

(d)		Includes charges and adjustments related to the acquisition of Ideas International. The charges consist of directly-related expenses for legal, consulting, and severance. Also included are non-cash fair value adjustments on pre-acquisition deferred revenues, which are being amortized ratably over the remaining life of the underlying contracts.


Reconciliation - Diluted income per share to Diluted income per share excluding
acquisition adjustments (a):
	Three Months Ended September 30,
	2012				2011
	After-tax				After-tax
	Amount		EPS		Amount		EPS
Diluted income per share	$	31,375	$	0.33	$	30,464	$	0.31
Acquisition adjustments, net of tax effect (b):
Amortization of intangibles (c)		874		0.01		457		-
Acquisition and integration adjustments (d)		904		0.01		-		-
Diluted income per share excluding acquisition adjustments (e)	$	33,153	$	0.35	$	30,921	$	0.31

	Nine Months Ended September 30,
	2012				2011
	After-tax				After-tax
	Amount		EPS		Amount		EPS
Diluted income per share	$	107,080	$	1.12	$	91,878	$	0.92
Acquisition adjustments, net of tax effect (b):
Amortization of intangibles (c)		1,898		0.02		3,576		0.04
Acquisition and integration adjustments (d)		1,769		0.02		-		-
Diluted income per share excluding acquisition adjustments (f)	$	110,747	$	1.16	$	95,454	$	0.96

(a)		Diluted income per share excluding acquisition adjustments is based on GAAP diluted income per share adjusted for the per share impact of acquisition adjustments, net of tax effect.

(b)		The effective tax rates were 33.7% and 34.7% for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2012, respectively, and 39.5% for both the three and nine months ended September 30, 2011.

(c)		Consists of non-cash amortization charges related to acquired intangibles.

(d)		Includes charges and adjustments related to the acquisition of Ideas International. The charges consist of directly-related expenses for legal, consulting, and severance. Also included are non-cash fair value adjsutments on pre-acquisition deferred revenues, which are being amortized ratably over the remaining life of the underlying contracts.

(e)		Based on fully diluted shares of 95.6 million in 2012 and 98.3 million in 2011.

(f)		Based on fully diluted shares of 95.8 million in 2012 and 99.5 million in 2011.


GARTNER, INC.
Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets
(Unaudited, in thousands)


	September 30,		December 31,
	2012		2011
Assets
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents	$	255,391	$	142,739
Fees receivable, net		370,951		421,033
Deferred commissions		65,870		78,492
Prepaid expenses and other current assets		89,766		63,521
Total current assets		781,978		705,785
Property, equipment and leasehold improvements, net		80,344		68,132
Goodwill		519,200		508,550
Intangible assets, net		13,142		7,060
Other assets		84,484		90,345
Total Assets	$	1,479,148	$	1,379,872

Liabilities and Stockholders' Equity
Current liabilities:
Accounts payable and accrued liabilities	$	206,290	$	259,490
Deferred revenues		682,603		611,647
Current portion of long term debt		80,000		50,000
Total current liabilities		968,893		921,137
Long term debt		120,000		150,000
Other liabilities		128,790		126,951
Total Liabilities		1,217,683		1,198,088

Total Stockholders' Equity		261,465		181,784
Total Liabilities and Stockholders' Equity	$	1,479,148	$	1,379,872


GARTNER, INC.
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows
(Unaudited, in thousands)


	Nine Months Ended
	September 30,
	2012			2011
Operating activities:
Net income	$	107,080		$	91,878
Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating activities:
Depreciation and amortization of intangibles		21,407			24,931
Stock-based compensation expense		28,021			24,750
Excess tax benefits from stock-based compensation		(20,366	)		(22,458	)
Deferred taxes		(3,268	)		3,812
Amortization and writeoff of debt issuance costs		1,512			1,733
Changes in assets and liabilities
Fees receivable, net		54,157			16,023
Deferred commissions		13,202			11,354
Prepaid expenses and other current assets		(18,803	)		(6,241	)
Other assets		2,429			2,051
Deferred revenues		60,681			74,021
Accounts payable, accrued, and other liabilities		(37,301	)		(45,389	)
Cash provided (used) by operating activities		208,751			176,465

Investing activities:
Additions to property, equipment and leasehold improvements		(30,800	)		(23,720	)
Acquisition (net of cash acquired)		(10,336	)		-
Cash used by investing activities		(41,136	)		(23,720	)

Financing activities:
Proceeds from stock issued under stock plans		10,560			17,771
Proceeds from debt issuance		22,500			5,000
Payments on debt		(22,500	)		(15,156	)
Purchases of treasury stock		(89,300	)		(141,214	)
Excess tax benefits from stock compensation		20,366			22,458
Cash (used) provided by financing activities		(58,374	)		(111,141	)
Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents		109,241			41,604
Effects of exchange rates on cash and cash equivalents		3,411			(4,882	)
Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of period		142,739			120,181
Cash and cash equivalents, end of period	$	255,391		$	156,903

Gartner, Inc.
Brian Shipman, +1 203-316-3659
Group Vice President, Investor Relations
brian.shipman@gartner.com

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