South Atlantic Bancshares, Inc. announced earnings results for the fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2011. Net income for the quarter ended December 31, 2011 was $358,366 or $0.13 per diluted share, representing the bank's fourth consecutive quarterly profit. For the year, the company reported total interest income of $9,496,000 against $7,955,000 in the same period of last year. Net interest income was $7,352,000 against $5,162,000 in the same period of last year. Income was $1,155,000 against loss of $945,000 in the same period of last year. Net income per diluted share was $0.42. This overall growth, when met with the success of strategies implemented to improve the net interest margin, control expenses, and maintain credit quality, yielded strong results. The bank's net interest margin improved to 3.40% for the year ended December 31, 2011, up from the 2.97% reported for the same period a year ago. The improvement in the margin is due to an increase in the yields on interest earning assets and a decrease in interest costs for deposits, based on market conditions and the current low interest rate environment.