American International Industries Inc. Reports First Quarter Profits.

Business Editors

KEMAH, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 21, 2001

American International Industries Inc. (OTCBB:EDII) reports profits for the first quarter, March 31, 2001 of $1,494,988 or $0.01 per share. Most of the profits were attributed to a sale of its wholly owned subsidiary Har-Whit / Pitt's & Spitt's Inc.

The company further announced the sale of its wholly owned subsidiary Marald Inc. to Unlimited Coatings Corporation, (Pink Sheets:UCCC) (formerly World Wide Net Inc. "WWNT"). The consideration was paid to EDII with restricted common stock, which gave EDII an approximate 90% stake in UCCC.

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American International Industries Inc. is a growing holding company. The company has holdings in industry, finance, real estate in Houston, Texas, and surrounding areas, and oil & gas. The vision of the company is to develop holdings in various industries through acquisition of existing companies, applying the financial resources and management expertise to foster the growth and profitability of the acquired businesses. The holding company serves as a financial and professional partner to the management of the subsidiaries. The role of the holding company is to improve each subsidiary's access to capital, achieve economics of scale by consolidating administrative functions, and utilize the financial and management expertise of corporate personnel across all units. EDII is continuing to work with management of the subsidiary companies to improve revenues, operations and profitability.

The matters discussed in this release contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, that involve risks and uncertainties. All statements other than statements of historical information provided herein may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. Without limiting the foregoing, the words "believes", "anticipates", "plans", "expects" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those that we may anticipate in each of our segments reflected by our subsidiaries' operations include without limitations, continued acceptance of the company's products and services, increased levels of competition, new products and technology changes, the dependence upon financing, third party suppliers and intellectual property rights, the rules of regulatory authorities and risks associated with any potential acquisitions. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which reflect management's analysis, judgment, belief or expectation only as of the date hereof.