MidSouth Bancorp has reported net income available to common shareholders of $956,000, or $0.14 per diluted share, for the first quarter ended March 31, 2009, a decrease of 20.3% from net income of $1.2m, or $0.18 per diluted share, reported for the first quarter of 2008.

Net income for the first quarter of 2009 was $1.23m, compared to $1.2m in the same quarter of 2009.

Net interest income increased 9.2% to $10.12m in the first quarter of 2009, from $9.27m in the first quarter of 2008. Non-interest income declined 1.6% to $3.53m in the first quarter of 2009 from $3.59m in the same quarter of 2008.

The company’s total assets for the first quarter ended March 31, 2009 were $923.1m, a 1.5% decrease from the $937m in total assets recorded at March 31, 2008.

CR Cloutier, president and CEO, said: We have spent the first quarter of 2009 working hard within our communities and with our creditors and depositors to manage the challenges presented by the downturn in the economy. We will continue that effort and will overcome these challenges as we did in the mid-80’s. MidSouth Bank survived that downturn and we will survive this one, knowing that these challenges serve to make us more astute as we look toward a brighter future.