(Reuters) - Cloud storage provider Box Inc reported a smaller-than-expected loss as its efforts to attract customers paid off. The company's paying customer base rose to more than 69,000 in the third quarter from 54,000 a year earlier. Strong sales execution and increased adoption of newer products helped results, Chief Financial Officer Dylan Smith said in a statement on Wednesday. Shares of Box, which offers online content management to individuals and businesses, were up 1.8 percent after the bell. Box, whose customers include General Electric Co , AstraZeneca Plc and Symantec Corp , has been investing heavily to beef up its cloud technology and is focusing on expanding outside the United States. Excluding items, the company posted a loss of 14 cents per share in the third quarter, smaller than the average analyst loss estimate of 19 cents per share. Box said it expects revenue in the current quarter to be at between $108 million and $109 million. Analysts on average were expecting fourth-quarter revenue of $108.71 million, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. The company's net loss narrowed to $38.23 million, or 30 cents per share, in the quarter ended Oct. 31, from $55.1 million, or 45 cents per share, a year earlier. Revenue rose 30.7 percent to $102.8 million, beating the estimate of $100.6 million. (Reporting by Rishika Sadam in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)