RICHMOND, Va., May 22 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- George C. Freeman, III,President and Chief Executive Officer of Universal Corporation (NYSE: UVV),announced today that the Company's Board of Directors declared a quarterlydividend of forty-five cents ($0.45) per share on the common shares of theCompany, payable August 11, 2008, to common shareholders of record at theclose of business on July 14, 2008.

In addition, the Board of Directors declared a quarterly dividend of$16.875 per share on the Series B 6.75% Convertible Perpetual Preferred Stock('Series B Preferred Stock'), payable June 16, 2008, to shareholders of recordas of 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on June 1, 2008.

The Board of Directors set the date of the Annual Meeting of Shareholdersas Tuesday, August 5, 2008, to be held at 2:00 p.m. at the Company'sheadquarters building. The Board of Directors set the record date for theAnnual Meeting of Shareholders as June 17, 2008.

Headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, Universal Corporation is one of theworld's leading tobacco merchants and processors and conducts business in morethan 35 countries. Its revenues from continuing operations for the fiscalyear ended March 31, 2007, were $2.0 billion. For more information onUniversal Corporation, visit its web site at www.universalcorp.com.

SOURCE Universal Corporation