(Reuters) -BMW reported a higher margin in its core automotive segment on Thursday, driven by full consolidation of its Chinese joint venture BMW Brilliance Automotive (BBA) and better sales volumes.

The carmaker's margin on earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) was 9.8% in the quarter, versus 8.9% expected in the company-provided consensus.

However, the firm has cut its annual dividend to 6 euros per share, down from 8.5 euros last year.

"A positive effect came from the full-year inclusion of the BBA result and from the net effect of volume, mix and pricing, driven by the higher sales volume and the higher share of top end as well as BMW M vehicles," the German premium carmaker said in a statement.

Group revenue rose by 8.7% through October-December to 42.9 billion euros ($46.89 billion), while net profit added 20% and stood at 2.6 billion euros, both above the consensus.

Shares in BMW fell 3% following the results.

($1 = 0.9150 euros)