(Yicai Global) March 30 -- Shares of Brilliance China Automotive Holdings plunged after the partner in German auto giant BMW's joint venture in China said profit and revenue slumped last year.

Brilliance [HKG: 1114] closed 6.7 percent down at HKD3.34 (43 US cents) a share today, after tumbling by as much as 14.5 percent in morning trading.

Net profit, which included that from the JV with BMW, fell 40 percent to CNY7.1 billion (USD1 billion) in the 12 months ended Dec. 31 from the previous year, the carmaker announced yesterday. Revenue nearly halved to CNY1.1 billion.

Brilliance sold half of its 50 percent stake in BMW Brilliance to its German partner in February last year, so net profit from BMW Brilliance as a JV plunged 84 percent to CNY2.4 billion as it was reclassified to an associate. Associated companies contributed CNY6.5 billion to Brilliance's net profit last year.

BMW Brilliance's auto sales in China rose 2 percent to 664,934 units last year from 2021, with exports jumping 37 percent to 30,005.

Brilliance Renault Jinbei, a passenger and commercial car JV that Brilliance set up in 2017 with France's Renault Group, filed for bankruptcy in December 2021 and then embarked on a restructuring, so it was removed from Brilliance's financial report, causing revenue to fall.

Editor: Futura Costaglione