(Yicai) Sept. 19 -- Shares in Li Auto dropped slightly today after one of its directors and the chief executive officer of Chinese on-demand services giant Meituan trimmed his stake for four days running following previous reductions earlier this year.

Li Auto’s share price [HKG:2015] closed down 2.7 percent at HKD150.30 (USD19) today.

Wang Xing sold 1.948 million shares in Li Auto between Sept. 12 and Sept. 15 at an average price of HKD160 (USD20.5) apiece, cashing in HKD311 million (USD39.8 million), according to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange website.

This has diluted Wang’s equity to 384 million shares, but it didn't change his position as the third largest stakeholder after Li Auto’s founder and CEO Li Xiang and Beijing-based Meituan.

“The transaction is Wang’s personal decision. It only accounts for a small part of his total shareholding and does not involve Meituan’s stake,” The Paper reported today, citing the carmaker. “Specific shareholding information will be shared in the company’s annual report.”

This is not the first time that Wang sold his stakes in Li Auto this year. From March 20 to 30, he sold HKD310 million of the Hong Kong stock and he has reduced his equity in its US stock three times, bagging USD14 million.

Wang was an angel investor in Li Auto’s Series-C financing round in 2019, pumping in USD285 million, more than half of the USD530 million raised. Meituan’s strategic investment department also participated in this round.

And in 2020, Li Auto secured USD550 million in its Series-D fundraising, of which USD500 million came from Meituan’s strategic investment department. When Li Auto went public in the US, Meituan subscribed to USD300 million worth of shares and Wang USD30 million.

Li Auto raked in net profit of CNY2.3 billion (USD316 million) in the three months ended June 30, a big turnaround from the losses of CNY641 million (USD87.82 million) in the same period last year, according to its latest earnings report released on Aug. 8. Revenue more than tripled to CNY28.6 billion (USD3.9 billion), far above market expectations of CNY27.2 billion and hitting a new high.

Revenue could soar by three-and-a-half times in the three months ending Sept. 30 to as much as CNY33.3 billion (USD4.5 billion), the Beijing-based company said.

The firm achieved record deliveries in the second quarter at 86,533 units, triple that of a year earlier, it said on Aug. 8. It delivered 208,200 units from January to August.

Editor: Kim Taylor