Tellabs shares drop after CFO departure

Tellabs CFO Andrew Szafran resigns, shares drop; finance exec named as acting CFO

The Associated Press

Tellabs Inc.'s shares dropped Monday after the communications equipment maker said that its chief financial officer is resigning.

THE SPARK: The Naperville, Ill.-based company said Monday that CFO Andrew Szafran has resigned for personal reasons. Tellabs said that his departure was not related to the company's operations, financial reporting or business outlook.

The company named Tom Minichiello, a Tellabs vice president and chief accounting officer, as acting CFO.

THE BIG PICTURE: The executive change may be unsettling for investors of Tellabs, which this year has cut jobs and announced plans to stop development of a new line of routers as sales slide. The company has posted annual losses for the past two years, and analysts polled by FactSet expected another loss in 2013.

SHARE ACTION: Tellabs shares fell 12 cents, or 5.7 percent, to $2.04 in Monday afternoon trading. Shares have dropped 42 percent over the past 12 months.