China's Shanghai International Port (Group) Co (SIPG) has posted a 27.8% year-on-year decline in net profit to RMB733.8 million ($107.5 million) for the first quarter (Q1) this year, the company announced.

Shanghai port, the world's second busiest container port after Singapore, handled a total of 5.56 million TEUs in Q1, down 15% from the same period in 2008.

Q1 revenue for the company slumped to RMB3.7 billion ($541.9 million) , down 11.9% to RMB4.2 billion ($615.1 million).

SIPG gained about 50% of its revenue from container handling in 2008, while port services accounted around 24% of revenue.

The company has warned that 2009 will be ''the toughest year in recent memory for the port and shipping industries'' after Q4 2008 net profit fell 17.5% to RMB697 million ($102.1 million) year-on-year.

The port operator has also aborted a 40% investment in Belgium-based APM Terminals Zeebrugge, following a downturn in container trades.

SIPG President Chen Xu Yuan has forecast a modest one million TEU rise in container throughput this year to 29 million TEUs, based on continued consolidation of its port investments on the Yangtze River and expansion of Yangshan deepwater port.