(Yicai Global) May 21 -- China's Baidu has refuted a media report that claimed it is planning to spin off its unmanned vehicle unit into a separate business after the parent posted its first quarterly profit decline since going public in 2005. 

Baidu has no starburst plan for Apollo and the project is progressing steadily according to existing strategies, Beijing Business Daily reported, citing the Beijing-based firm.

Baidu is seeking external financing to spin out the unprofitable Apollo due to the financial pressures that the parent is facing, China's Caijing reported.

Baidu's net loss was CNY327 million (USD47.4 million) in the first quarter, according to its earnings released on May 17. The company's stock price [NASDAQ: BIDU] has fallen nearly one-quarter from the day before the earnings were released to USD117.60 yesterday. 

Baidu has started testing its first group of self-driving taxis in central China's Changsha in March. The mileage of Apollo is over 10 times that of the second-best platform, according to an autopilot test report that the municipality of Beijing released last year. 

Editor: Emmi Laine