BEIJING - Air China, the country's flag carrier, registered growth in its business revenue and net profit in the first quarter of this year, according to a company statement.

Business revenue climbed 3 percent year-on-year to 32.55 billion yuan ($4.84 billion) during the period, while net profit attributable to listed shareholders reached 2.72 billion yuan, up 3.6 percent from the same period last year.

The airline's total assets amounted to 281.18 billion yuan as of the end of March, a notable increase of 15.37 percent from the end of last year, the statement said.