SEOUL (Reuters) -Hyundai Motor Co ( HYMTF ) on Thursday reported a 7% fall in third-quarter operating profit in a sign the global slowdown in car demand is impacting the South Korean carmaker.

Hyundai Motor ( HYMTF ), which together with its affiliate Kia Corp is the world's No.3 automaker by sales, reported an operating profit of 3.6 trillion won ($2.6 billion) for the July to September period, compared with 3.8 trillion won in profit a year earlier.

The result was also lower than a 3.9 trillion won average operating profit forecast by 20 analysts compiled by LSEG SmartEstimate, which is weighted towards estimates from analysts who are more consistently accurate.

Hyundai Motor ( HYMTF ) shares extended losses on Thursday, falling 3.7% after the earnings announcement.

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