Comverge 4Q Profit Drops 19 Percent

EAST HANOVER, N.J. (AP) — Comverge Inc., which makes equipment for improving electric capacity, said its fourth-quarter profit fell 19 percent to $6.1 million as revenue declined, but results still topped Wall Street expectations.

Earnings of 28 cents per share slipped from $7.6 million, or 36 cents per share, a year ago.

Revenue fell 5.2 percent to $33.0 million from $34.8 million a year ago.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected, on average, earnings of 21 cents per share on revenue of $32 million.

Shares rose 31 cents, or 6.9 percent, to close at $4.80 Tuesday before the earnings announcement. They fell 8 cents to $4.72 in after-hours trade.

For the full year, revenue rose 40 percent to $77.2 million from $55.2 million a year ago. But losses ballooned to $94.1 million, or $4.45 per share, from a loss of $6.6 million, or 46 cents per share, a year ago.

Most of the loss was due to a non-cash impairment charge of $75.4 million, or $3.52 per share, booked in the third quarter related to the purchase of Enerwise Global Technologies Inc.

Excluding the charge, the full-year loss more than doubled to $19.7 million, or 93 cents per share.

The company said it expects its revenue for 2009 to exceed $90 million.