These five wells are in addition to the two new wells drilled in the first quarter 2010 and completed as producing wells in the third quarter 2010 pursuant to the company’s drillsite agreement.

The company reported net income of $3.2 million ($0.49 per share diluted) in the fourth quarter 2010, compared to $3.0 million ($0.47 per share diluted) in the fourth quarter 2009, an increase of $136 thousand, or 4.5 percent.  For full-year 2010, the company’s net income increased by $4.4 million, or 32.0 percent, to $18.0 million ($2.81 per share diluted), from net income of $13.7 million ($2.14 per share diluted) in 2009.

The company’s gross profit was $7.1 million in both the fourth quarter 2010 and the comparable 2009 quarter, with an increase of $17 thousand, or 0.2 percent in the 2010 period. For full-year 2010, gross profit was $36.0 million, compared to $28.8 million in 2009, an increase of $7.3 million, or 25.3 percent.

Included in gross profit in the fourth quarter and full-year 2010 were $6.1 million and $31.2 million, respectively, from the company’s lime and limestone operations, compared to $5.7 million and $24.3 million, respectively, in the comparable 2009 periods.

The improvements in gross profit and gross profit margins as a percentage of revenues for the company’s lime and limestone operations in the 2010 periods compared to the comparable 2009 periods resulted primarily from the increases in revenues discussed above. Gross profit from the company’s natural gas interests declined $313 thousand to $1.0 million for the fourth quarter 2010 from $1.3 million in the comparable 2009 period, and increased $423 thousand for full-year 2010 to $4.8 million, compared to $4.4 million for full year 2009.

Three additional new wells drilled in the fourth quarter 2009 and the first quarter 2010 pursuant to the company’s lease agreement are expected to be completed as producing wells during 2011. The company cannot predict the number of additional wells that ultimately will be drilled, if any, or their results.

“We are very pleased with the results from our lime and limestone operations in 2010 in spite of the continuing soft economy,” said Timothy W. Byrne, president and CEO, in a written statement. Byrne added, “We saw a decrease in demand from our steel customers during the second half of the year and are still seeing anemic construction demand related to housing developments.  Although governmental funding of public sector projects remains a concern, improved highway construction demand is continuing.”

United States Lime & Minerals, Inc., a NASDAQ-listed public company with headquarters in Dallas, is a manufacturer of lime and limestone products, supplying primarily the construction, steel, municipal sanitation and water treatment, aluminum, paper, utilities, glass, roof shingle and agriculture industries.