PEOPLES BANCORP INC. - P.O. BOX 738 - MARIETTA, OHIO - 45750
www.peoplesbancorp.com
NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Mark F. Bradley
- --------------------- President and Chief Executive Officer
November 10, 2005 (740) 373-3155
PEOPLES BANCORP INC.
DECLARES FOURTH QUARTER DIVIDEND
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MARIETTA, Ohio - The Board of Directors of Peoples Bancorp Inc.
(NASDAQ: PEBO) today declared a cash dividend of $0.20 per share, representing
an 11.1% increase over the $0.18 per share dividend paid in the fourth quarter
of 2004.
"We are pleased to announce our 40th consecutive year of dividend
growth," said Mark F. Bradley, President and Chief Executive Officer. "We
believe dividend increases are an effective method of enhancing shareholder
return." With the fourth quarter dividend, Peoples Bancorp has increased its
dividend 8.3% in 2005, compared to the $0.72 per share paid in 2004.
The fourth quarter dividend payout of approximately $2.1 million, based
on 10.5 million shares outstanding at November 10, 2005, is payable on January
3, 2006, to shareholders of record at December 15, 2005.
Peoples Bancorp Inc., a diversified financial products and services
company with $1.9 billion in assets, makes available a complete line of banking,
investment, insurance, and trust solutions through 49 locations and 34 ATMs in
Ohio, West Virginia and Kentucky. Peoples' financial service units include
Peoples Bank, Peoples Financial Advisors (a division of Peoples Bank) and
Peoples Insurance Agency, Inc. Peoples' common shares are traded on the NASDAQ
national market under the symbol "PEBO", and Peoples is a member of the Russell
3000 index of US publicly traded companies. Learn more about Peoples at
www.peoplesbancorp.com.
END OF RELEASE