NEW YORK (Reuters) – DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc. said on Friday its chief financial officer, Kristina Leslie, will leave the company early next year.

Leslie will remain in her role through February 2007 to oversee the reporting of the end-year results of the company, which produces computer-generated animated feature films such as “Shrek” and “Flushed Away.”

Leslie had worked with Dreamworks Chief Executive Jeffrey Katzenberg for over 10 years. She told an analyst conference in New York last week that the business will concentrate on developing sequels to its hit films as they yield higher returns on investment than the original films.

Merrill Lynch analyst Jessica Reif Cohen said in a note on Friday that she did not expect the change in CFO to have a meaningful near-term impact on the company’s prospects or share price.

Cohen, who rates Dreamworks shares as a “buy,” said the company will benefit from a much stronger slate of film releases over the next two years, including “Shrek 3,” “Bee Movie” and “Madagascar 2.”