SEOUL (Reuters) -Hyundai Motor posted a decline in second-quarter operating profit on Thursday, down 16% from a year earlier, as U.S. tariffs on vehicles and parts started to weigh on its bottom line.

Hyundai, which together with affiliate Kia is the world's third-biggest automaking group by sales, booked operating profit of 3.6 trillion won ($2.64 billion) for April-to-June, compared with 4.28 trillion won in the same period a year earlier.

The result compared with a 3.5 trillion won LSEG SmartEstimate drawn from 22 analysts. The consensus estimate gives more weight to analysts who are more consistently accurate.

The South Korean automaker said it was sticking to its annual profit target for now even after U.S. tariffs cost the company 828 billion won in the second quarter.

U.S. tariffs pose risks to its operations, it added.

The company said its revenue rose 7% from a year earlier to 48.3 trillion won, versus an analysts' consensus of 47 trillion won.

Hyundai Motor shares fell 3.2% after the earnings announcement.

($1 = 1,366.2000 won)

(Reporting by Hyunjoo Jin; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)