UPDATE 2-Comverge Q3 loss narrower-than-expected, sees strong Q4

* Q3 loss/shr $0.44 vs loss/shr est $0.45, rev up 37 pct

* Says on track to meet or exceed full-year goals

* Says Q4 shaping up "very strongly" (Recasts; adds details, comments form CEO interview, updates share movement)

By Adveith Nair

BANGALORE, Nov 9 (Reuters) - Energy efficiency company Comverge Inc COMV.O reported a narrower-than-expected quarterly loss, helped in part by strength at its products and services business, and said this would continue into the fourth quarter.

"Our products and services business had its highest quarter ever. This business is really taking off as utilities are making advanced metering infrastructure investments. We see continued growth and expansion in this business (in the fourth quarter)," interim Chief Executive Michael Picchi told Reuters.

For the latest third quarter, the company reported a net loss of 44 cents a share, compared with a loss of $3.85 a share, last year. Sales rose 37 percent to $33.2 million. [ID:nWNAB2769]

"Our third quarter performance kept us firmly on track to meet or exceed our targets for annual growth in megawatts under management and estimated future contract revenue," Picchi said in a statement.

Last week, larger rival EnerNOC Inc (ENOC.O) had said third-quarter revenue nearly doubled, as it reported its first ever profitable quarter, and upped its full-year forecast. [ID:nWNAB1555 ]

And analysts, on average, expect Comverge to post its first profit of the year in the fourth quarter. The East Hanover, New Jersey-based company has so far reported three consecutive fourth-quarter profits.

Picchi said the fourth quarter had been shaping "very strongly," adding that the recent stimulus package would only spur growth.

"Two weeks ago, the Department of Energy announced $3.4 billion in stimulus money for a number of utilities. Forty-four percent of that money is going to go to utilities that are already customers of Comverge," Picchi said.

Comverge and EnerNOC's demand response businesses pay customers to reduce energy consumption during peak hours when utility supplies are stretched.

Picchi said while the company had so far been conservative in forecasting benefits from the stimulus package, "it now looks like those dollars are real, and the utilities spending them with Comverge is going to be real."

"We expect a number of contract announcements over the next six months, relating to utilities getting the stimulus money and spending a portion of that with Comverge."

Comverge shares, which have far risen nearly six-fold from a November 2008 year-low, were up about two percent at $12.64 Monday on Nasdaq. (Reporting by Adveith Nair in Bangalore; Editing by Pradeep Kurup, Jarshad Kakkrakandy)