ROCKLAND, Mass. – Independent Bank Corp. (Nasdaq: INDB), parent of Rockland Trust Co., today posted a first-quarter profit of $6.39 million, an increase of 1.27 percent from the year-ago $6.31 million.

First-quarter revenue rose 9.26 percent to $53.88 million from $49.32 million in the first three months of 2008.

Independent, which has branches in Massachusetts but also does business in Rhode Island, saw increases in both interest income – up 5.68 percent year over year to $43.41 million – and in noninterest income – up 27.13 percent from a year ago to $10.47 million, thanks to a $1.4 million gain on the sale of securities.

Earnings per diluted common share sank to 32 cents, down from 44 cents in the same quarter in 2008. However, the consensus estimate of analysts who follow Independent was 26 cents, according to Yahoo! Finance.

“Rockland Trust had solid financial performance during the first quarter of 2009,” said Christopher Oddleifson, Independent president and CEO. “The stability and safety of our organization has distinguished us from our competition in a challenging economic climate.”

It was a very active in recent weeks. In January, the company accepted $78 million from U.S. Treasury in exchange for preferred shares through the federal government’s Capital Purchase Program.

Then on April 22, after the end of the first quarter, Independent repaid the CPP investment, with executives saying they didn’t like the stigma that came with accepting the money.

Independent also completed its acquisition of Benjamin Franklin Bancorp., the parent of Benjamin Franklin Bank.

Like most other banks in the first quarter, Independent Bank saw credit quality deteriorate as borrowers felt the squeeze of the recession.

Nonperforming assets – typically loans and leases that are more than 90 days overdue – totaled $32.65 million as of March 31, up from $29.88 million three months ago and from $11.92 million a year ago.

The nonperforming assets amount to 1.08 percent of total assets, compared with 1.01 percent on Jan. 1, and 0.43 percent a year ago.

Net charge-offs – loans that the bank has determined are uncollectible – for the first quarter totaled $3.56 million, up from $1.81 million in the previous quarter.

Independent’s loan-loss set-aside for anticipated bad loans was $4 million, down from $5.56 million in the 2008 fourth quarter, but up from $1.34 million a year ago.

Total deposits at Independent amounted to $2.65 billion on March 31, up 2.89 percent from the bank’s $2.58 billion at the end of 2008. The company’s total assets grew by $137.97 million – or 3.08 percent – during the first quarter to $3.77 billion.

The bank’s net interest margin narrowed to 3.55 percent from the fourth quarter 2008’s 3.81 percent.

Independent Bank Corp. (Nasdaq: INDB) is the parent of Rockland Trust Co., a full-service community bank with assets of $3.8 billion that serves southeastern Massachusetts, Cape Cod and Rhode Island. Rockland Trust has 63 retail branches, nine commercial lending centers, five mortgage-origination offices and four investment-management offices, one of which is in Rhode Island. Additional information is available at www.RocklandTrust.com.