Albemarle Announces 12% Increase in Quarterly Dividend

BATON ROUGE, La., Feb. 17 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The Board of Directors of Albemarle Corporation (NYSE: ALB) today increased the regular quarterly dividend to $0.14 per share from $0.125, an increase of 12%. The dividend is payable April 1, 2010 to shareholders of record at the close of business as of March 15, 2010.  The new annualized dividend rate is $0.56 per share.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050801/ALBEMARLELOGO )

"We're proud to be able to increase our dividend for the sixteenth straight year, particularly in light of the economic downturn that we faced in 2009," said Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Mark C. Rohr.  "This increase reflects the strength of our balance sheet and confidence in our ability to generate cash and deliver on the business opportunities in front of us."

Albemarle Corporation, headquartered in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, is a leading global developer, manufacturer, and marketer of highly-engineered specialty chemicals for consumer electronics, petroleum refining, utilities, packaging, construction, automotive/transportation, pharmaceuticals, crop protection, food-safety and custom chemistry services.  The Company is committed to global sustainability and is advancing its eco-practices and solutions in its three business segments, Polymer Solutions, Catalysts, and Fine Chemicals. Albemarle employs over 4,100 people and serves customers in approximately 100 countries.  To learn more, visit www.albemarle.com.

"Safe Harbor" Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: Statements in this press release regarding Albemarle Corporation's business which are not historical facts are "forward-looking statements" that involve risks and uncertainties. For a discussion of such risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements, see "Risk Factors" in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K.

SOURCE Albemarle Corporation