A man passes by an outlet of China Pacific Insurance in Changzhou, Jiangsu province, Aug 16, 2013. [Photo/VCG]

BEIJING - China Pacific Insurance, the country's third largest life insurer, said its first-quarter net profits declined 9 percent year on year to two billion yuan ($289.86 million).

The insurer, listed in both Shanghai and Hong Kong, said its operating revenue in the first quarter of the year rose 29.9 percent from a year earlier to 108.4 billion yuan.

Income from the insurance business increased 29.5 percent year on year to 101.28 billion yuan, the company said in a statement to the Shanghai Stock Exchange.

Basic earnings per share fell 9 percent year on year to 0.22 yuan.

By the end of March, it said the group's investment assets amounted to more than one trillion yuan, up 6.3 percent from the end of 2016. Of the investment portfolio, equity investments accounted for 13.7 percent, fixed-income investments accounted for 81.7 percent, while property investments took up 0.9 percent.

The company's share prices edged down 0.04 percent to 27.75 yuan on Friday.