SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Hyundai Motor says its fourth-quarter earnings rose a lower-than-expected 3 percent, hurt by weaker overseas sales, while its operating income slumped to its lowest level since 2010.

South Korea's largest automaker said Thursday its October-December net profit was 1.03 trillion won ($970 million) on sales of 24.5 trillion won ($23 billion). Operating income slumped 24 percent to 775 billion won ($730 million), missing estimates.

Hyundai's annual net profit in 2017 was the lowest in eight years, sinking 25 percent to 4 trillion won ($3.8 billion).

Hyundai said demand overseas was hurt by friction between China and South Korea over Seoul's deployment of a U.S. missile defense system. The maker of Kona SUVs sold 4.5 million vehicles in 2017, down 6 percent from a year earlier.