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The global recession has taken its toll on Japanese shipping group Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK) Line, with the group announcing a loss of US$262.7m for the first quarter of the fiscal year ended 30 June 2009.

The result represents a marked contrast to the same quarter last year, when NYK reported on a net income of US$610m.

Group revenue for the three-month period fell by 41 per cent during the quarter, down to US$4bn from US$7.1bn a year earlier, as the financial crisis cut into volumes and freight rates.

Meanwhile, the group estimated that revenue for the first-half of the year would reach US$8.2m with a net loss of US#336m.

The group predicted that it would make a loss of US$52.5m for the full fiscal year, with total revenue of US$17.9bn.