Sales at mobile modem maker Sierra Wireless were hurt in the third quarter by a loss of business from Barnes & Noble's e-book readers and from cellular service provider Clearwire, Sierra said on Wednesday.

The Vancouver-based company reported a net loss of $1 million, or 3 cents a share, in the three months to September 30, its third straight quarterly loss. In the year-before quarter it made $700,000, or 2 cents a share.

Revenue was $146.8 million, down 15 percent from a year earlier, when Clearwire and Barnes & Noble together accounted for about $30 million in sales.

Analysts had, on average, expected Sierra to post revenue of $152.4 million, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Sierra said it expects revenue to be flat in the current quarter and net earnings of between $1.5 million and $3 million, which would be equal to adjusted earnings per share of between 5 and 10 cents.

The company said sales of its AirCard mobile modems had been slower than expected ramp in the third quarter. It hopes AirCard to become popular with wireless network operators launching next-generation LTE service.

(Reporting by Alastair Sharp in Toronto; editing by Peter Galloway)