Tianjin Port Development is optimistic that it can return to profit this year after sinking into the red in 2009.

The operator of the northern Chinese port incurred a US$6.1 million net loss in 2009, compared with a $16.8 million net profit in 2008, the South China Morning Post reported.

The global financial crisis caused a rise in throughput of empty containers and domestic trade containers, which carry lower revenue than international containers, Tianjin Port Development chairman Yu Rumin said.

Other factors contributing to the net loss last year included expenses of $8.4 million related to its $1.4 billion acquisition of 56.81 percent of its Shanghai-listed sister company, Tianjin Port Company.

The merger has resulted in Tianjin Port Development becoming the operator of the world's fifth-largest port and the third-largest on the mainland, behind Shanghai and Shenzhen, with a total container capacity of 12 million TEUs and two billion tonnes of cargo.