Exhibit
99.1
October
16,
2008
Steven F.
Nicola
Chief
Financial Officer,
Secretary &
Treasurer
412-442-8262
MATTHEWS
INTERNATIONAL CORPORATION
INCREASES QUARTERLY
DIVIDEND
PITTSBURGH, PA, OCTOBER 16, 2008 – The
Board of Directors of Matthews International Corporation (NASDAQ NNM: MATW)
today declared a quarterly dividend of $0.065 per share on the Company’s common
stock. The quarterly dividend has been increased one-half cent per
share from $0.06 to $0.065. The dividend is payable November 14, 2008
to stockholders of record October 31, 2008.
Joseph C. Bartolacci, President and
Chief Executive Officer, stated, “The Company’s strong financial position and
continued growth in profit performance has enabled Matthews to once again
increase its dividend.” Mr. Bartolacci noted that this was the
Corporation’s 14th
dividend increase since Matthews became a publicly traded stock in July
1994.
Matthews
International Corporation, headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is a
designer, manufacturer and marketer principally of memorialization products and
brand solutions. Memorialization products consist primarily of bronze memorials
and other memorialization products, caskets and cremation equipment for the
cemetery and funeral home industries. Brand solutions include graphics imaging
products and services, marking products, and merchandising solutions. The
Company's products and services include cast bronze memorials and other
memorialization products; caskets; cast and etched architectural products;
cremation equipment and cremation-related products; mausoleums; brand
management, printing plates and cylinders, pre-press services and imaging
services for the primary packaging and corrugated industries; marking and coding
equipment and consumables, and industrial automation products for identifying,
tracking and conveying various consumer and industrial products, components and
packaging containers; and merchandising display systems and marketing and design
services.