Jeju Air Co., South Korea's biggest low-cost carrier by sales, said Tuesday its third-quarter net profit fell 3.7 percent from a year earlier due to high oil prices.

Net profit for the three-month period that ended on Sept. 30 reached 31 billion won ($27.6 million), compared with 32.3 billion won a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing.

The budget airline said high oil prices are to blame for the decline in net profit.

Jet fuel prices came to $87.3 per barrel in the third quarter, up 45 percent from a year earlier.

Operating profit fell 6.5 percent to 37.7 billion won in the July-September period from 40.3 billion won a year ago. Sales were up 31.3 percent to 350 billion won from 266.5 billion won during the same period last year, it said. (Yonhap)