China Shipping Container Lines Co., China's biggest container shipping company by carrying capacity, swung into the red in 2009 with a loss of 6.49 billion yuan (950 million U.S. dollars) as the financial crisis took its toll.

The loss compared to a net profit of 134.69 million yuan in 2008, the company said in its annual report filed with the Shanghai Stock Exchange on Wednesday.

Revenue dived 43.4 percent year on year to 19.9 billion yuan.

The company attributed the big loss to the financial crisis which had reduced the major economies' demand for shipping services.

The lackluster performance also stemmed from fierce competition from domestic shipping service providers. The company said its domestic shipping rates dropped 33.9 percent on average to 1,329 yuan last year.

The company's stock fell 0.26 percent to 3.81 yuan per share Wednesday.

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