Hillenbrand, Inc. Increases Quarterly Dividend to $0.185...( BATESVILLE Ind. Dec. 5 /- The board o...),Health

BATESVILLE, Ind., Dec. 5 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The board of directors for Hillenbrand, Inc. (NYSE: HI) has declared a regular quarterly cash dividend of $0.185 per share on the company's common stock, a 1.4 percent increase over the previous quarterly rate of $0.1825 per share. The dividend is payable Dec. 31, 2008, to shareholders of record at the close of business on Dec. 17, 2008. Hillenbrand has paid quarterly dividends since its debut as a separate public company in April 2008, beginning with its first payout in June of this year.

"The board's decision to increase the dividend reflects its confidence in the company's continued financial strength and in our future," said Kenneth A. Camp, Hillenbrand president and CEO. "Our annual dividend payout of more than $45 million, combined with our share repurchase program, reflects our commitment to return a meaningful portion of our strong cash flow to shareholders."

ABOUT HILLENBRAND, INC.

Hillenbrand, Inc. ( www.HillenbrandInc.com ) is the holding company for Batesville Casket Company, a leader in the North American death care industry through the sale of funeral services products, including burial caskets, cremation caskets, containers and urns, selection room display fixturing and other personalization and memorialization products. HI-INC-F