(Yicai Global) April 18 -- WuXi AppTec’s shares plunged after China’s largest contract research and development firm in pharmaceuticals said its four controlling founders intend to further reduce their stake in the company.

WuXi AppTec [SHA: 603259] closed 5.6 percent down at CNY80.82 (USD11.77) a share in Shanghai today.

Li Ge, Zhao Ning, Zhang Zhaohui, and Liu Xiaozhong plan to sell 89 million WuXi AppTec shares, equal to 3 percent of the total outstanding, the Wuxi-based firm said yesterday. The shares are worth about CNY7.2 billion (USD1 billion) based on WuXi AppTec’s closing price today.

The four shareholders and parties controlled by them own 648 million WuXi AppTec shares, or 21.8 percent of the company’s total equity.

The four have been reducing their holdings since 2021, most recently on Nov. 25, when the company said they planned to sell 65 million shares, equal to 2.2 percent of the total, for more than CNY5.5 billion.

WuXi AppTec reported a CNY8.8 billion net profit last year, up over 70 percent from 2021. Revenue also jumped more than 70 percent to CNY39.4 billion (USD5.7 billion) in the period. For this year, the firm expects revenue to grow between 5 percent and 7 percent.

Editor: Futura Costaglione