BEIJING -- Air China Ltd, China's largest airliner, said on Thursday that its net profits in the third quarter decreased 26.46 percent year-on-year due to weak international demand and investment losses.

Its Q3 net profits totaled 3.8 billion yuan ($590 million). In the first nine months its profits slumped 20.26 percent year-on-year to 7.86 billion yuan.

Its sales revenue in the third quarter rose 13.36 percent year-on-year to 28.14 billion yuan.

The company said its profits were dragged down by lower contributions from its associate airline, Hong Kong-based Cathy Pacific, following a global air traffic recession this year.

The company also suffered a decrease in its fair value of 1.02 billion yuan in the third quarter due to losses in aviation fuel hedge trading.