Motorola Incorporated has recently announced that it was likely to come into a larger than previously expected loss for the first quarter and has also decided to suspend its quarterly dividend.

Moreover, the company revealed that it was looking for a new chief financial officer, which prompted its shares to go down by 10 percent.

Within the last quarter, the cell phone maker dropped to the fifth position from the fourth one in global rankings, while it has been on a downwards slope for a couple of years now, since it lacks a gadget able to compete with Nokia, Samsung Electronics and Sony Ericsson.

Motorola has informed that it expected a first quarter loss per share of 10 cents to 12 cents, which exceeds previous Wall Street forecasts, which had estimated a loss of approximately 5 cents.

Matthew Hoffman, an analyst for Avian Securities, stated he had expected Motorola’s handset unit to come to face issues, yet he added that the company’s announcements and their outlook meant that other departments were suffering by virtue of the global economic crisis.

Hoffman further said that Motorola’s decision to suspend its 5 cents per share quarterly dividend stood to reason, but that he was anxious to learn more details concerning the search for a new financial executive.

Motorola assigned its corporate controller Edward Fitzpatrick as acting CFO, thus replacing Paul Liska, still the company did not explain why Liska had left the position.

Motorola posted a net loss of $3.6 billion, which translates as $1.57 per share, while last year, it reported a profit of $100 million (4 cents a share).