www.americanii.com email: amin@americanii.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Houston / Kemah, Texas – April 1, 2009 American International Industries, Inc. (NasdaqCM: AMIN) reported net income of $8,381,667, or $1.07 per share, for the year ended December 31, 2008, compared to a net loss of $3,816,688, or $0.65 per share, for the year ended December 31, 2007. Revenues from continuing operations were $32,108,660 for the year ended December 31, 2008, compared to $24,841,988 for the same period in the prior year, representing an increase of $7,266,672, or 29%. The increase in revenues was due primarily to higher demand for pipe and rig services, resulting in an increase in Delta Seaboard Well Service’s (Delta) revenues of $7,656,644, or 66.7%, compared to the prior year.

Effective December 31, 2008, the Company deconsolidated Hammonds Industries, Inc. from its continuing operations. Net income from discontinued operations was $9,274,274, or $1.18 per share, for the year ended December 31, 2008, compared to net loss from discontinued operations of $4,682,641, or $0.79 per share, for the year ended December 31, 2007.  Net income from discontinued operations for the year ended December 31, 2008 includes the gain on deconsolidation of $15,421,569, offset by Hammonds' net loss of $6,147,295 for the year ended December 31, 2008.

Earnings from continuing operations before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) excluding special items was $415,159, or $0.05 per share, for the year ended December 31, 2008. EBITDA from continuing operations excluding special items for the year ended December 31, 2007 reflected a net loss of $292,303, or $0.05 per share. Our net loss from continuing operations was $892,607, or $0.11 per share, for the year ended December 31, 2008, compared to net income of $865,953, or $0.14 per share, for the year ended December 31, 2007. Special items included in our net loss from continuing operations for the year ended December 31, 2008 were $4,054,334 in unrealized losses on marking-to-market trading securities, $739,500 for the Company’s portion of the Delta lawsuit settlement, and a $4,922,591 gain on the Hammonds’ property dividend distribution. Our net income from continuing operations for the year ended December 31, 2007 included $2,401,333 in unrealized gains on marking-to-market trading securities.

Delta had revenues of $19,131,831 in 2008, compared to $11,475,187 in 2007, or an increase of $7,656,644, or 66.7%. The increase in revenues at Delta is due primarily to increased pipe sales of $7,421,675, or 108.5%, and an increase in rig service revenues of $234,969, or 3.4%.  Increased drilling activity during 2008 created a greater demand for pipe and rig services.  For the year ended December 31, 2008, pipe sales represented 74.5% of Delta's revenues, compared to 59.6% for the year ended December 31, 2007.  Delta experienced operating income of $1,858,214 in 2008, compared to an operating loss of $298,881 in 2007.

The results of Shumate Energy Technologies (SET) for the period of October 8, 2008 to December 31, 2008 are included in our results of operations.  For the period ended December 31, 2008, SET's revenues were $2,584,464 and net operating income was $78,681. During the first quarter of 2009, SET announced that it was awarded a $2.9 million contract by a major energy services company.

During 2008, Northeastern Plastics’ (NPI) revenues were $10,392,365, compared to revenues of $13,366,801 during the prior year, a decrease of $2,974,436. The revenue decrease was due to an overstock position from the 2007 holiday season from one large customer and a decrease in orders for the 2008 holiday season, due to the decline in the economy.  NPI experienced an operating loss of $18,650 for the 2008 fiscal year, compared to operating income of $730,199 during the prior fiscal year.

We had other expense of $318,844 in 2008, compared to other income of $2,935,503 in 2007. The primary reasons for the other expense in 2008 were unrealized losses on trading securities of $4,054,334 and the recognition of $1,450,000 for the Delta lawsuit settlement, offset by $4,922,591 for recognition of the property dividend distribution gain associated with the Hammonds’ stock dividend.  The primary reason for the other income in 2007 was due to unrealized gains on trading securities of $2,401,333. Marking-to-market the value of our stock portfolio had a significant impact on our net income for 2007 and our net loss for 2008. We have a policy in place to review our equity holdings on a regular basis and we seek to manage exposure to adverse market conditions by pursuing to increase the diversity of our securities portfolio. Management believes that the decline in the value of the Company’s stock portfolio during 2008 is temporary. Management believes that Delta’s lawsuit settlement amount will be recoverable through insurance claims. Delta expects to recover approximately $2,400,000 in damages, interest and attorney’s fees.

For more detailed information, please refer to our December 31, 2008 Form 10-K filing with the SEC on March 31, 2009.