UPDATE 1-Gartner Q3 beats Street, backs full-year outlook

* Q3 shr $0.21 from cont ops vs est $0.14

* Q3 rev $267.5 mln vs est $262.9 mln

* Maintains full-year outlook

Oct 30 (Reuters) - Gartner Inc (IT.N), the world's biggest technology research and advisory firm, posted a third-quarter profit much above Wall Street expectations, helped by improved retention in research subscriptions.

Revenue at the research segment, the company's biggest, was down 4 percent from the year-ago period. Research contract value, however, was up 1 percent sequentially.

"We expect our business trends to continue to improve in the fourth quarter and we expect to generate revenue, earnings and cash flow growth in 2010, Chief Executive Gene Hall said in a statement.

Net income of $20.1 million in the third quarter was up about 7 percent. Earnings from continuing operations were 21 cents a share, way above analysts' expectations.

Total revenue fell about 10 percent to $267.5 million but managed to beat expectations.

Analysts were looking for a profit of 14 cents a share, on revenue of $262.9 million, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Gartner also maintained its full-year outlook for revenue and earnings from continuing operations. [ID:nWNAB7538]

Shares of Gartner, whose rivals include Corporate Executive Board Co (EXBD.O), Forrester Research (FORR.O) and privately held IDC, closed at $18.95 Thursday on the New York Stock Exchange. (Reporting by Sudipto Ganguly in Bangalore; Editing by Ratul Ray Chaudhuri)