Stockholders Ratify Re-Election of Four Board Members

STAMFORD, Conn., May 12 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Michael J. Critelli, chairman and CEO of Pitney Bowes Inc. (NYSE: PBI), assured stockholders that the company was "effectively being transformed to thrive in a wide range of future market conditions, including the sluggish global economy in which it operates today," at the company's 83rd Annual Meeting of Stockholders.

"We have made our company a great deal stronger in the past 12 months, and we intend to continue our transformation and growth efforts to make it even stronger going forward," Critelli emphasized.

Critelli reviewed the four sets of activities that management efforts are currently focused on, including:

    *  The strategic decision to disengage from the company's Capital Services
       business by discontinuing new, complex, long-term, non-core
       transactions, and by disposing certain holdings in its existing
       financing portfolio "in a way that makes the most economic sense."
    *  Investing heavily in transformation initiatives to improve the quality
       of the company's existing business processes, reduce non-revenue
       producing costs, and create an infrastructure that enables significant
       growth without adding significant overhead cost structure.
    *  Continually enhancing the core business through targeted investments in
       new products and value-added services.
    *  Embarking on a four-pronged growth strategy through: expanding
       participation in the mail stream; expanding the company's document
       management solutions; increasing its global penetration; and
       cross-selling its solutions to more of its existing customers.

"In total, these strategies give us the blueprint to become a leader in a $250 billion global mail and document management marketplace, of which our current share is less than two percent," he stated.

Critelli also discussed the company's recent investment in increasing the visibility of the Pitney Bowes brand to senior-level executive decision makers, focusing on its full range of leading edge, global, integrated mail and document management solutions. "Our new tag line -- 'Engineering the Flow of Communication' -- will remind our customers, employees and other stakeholders that we can add the highest possible value at every step of our customers' communication processes that play a critical part in their success," he said.

In addition, Critelli also shared some of the company's business highlights, including:

    *  The launch of the new DM series of digital mailing systems with its
       Intellilink(TM) service package enabled the company to gain profitable
       market share and revenue-bearing population growth in postage meters
       for the first time in 17 years.
    *  The Pitney Bowes Advanced Productivity System (APS) production mail
       processor handles an industry-best 22,000 envelopes per hour, and has
       resulted in the acquisition of significant new business from
       high-volume mail processing customers.
    *  Its myaccount@pb.com web portal now has more than a half million
       registered users and handles over 11 percent of supplies, service and
       postage re-set transactions on-line.
    *  Pitney Bowes secure mail solutions, most of which were developed in
       response to the September 11 events, enabled the company to more than
       double its government outsourcing business last year.

Board members re-elected to three-year terms expiring at the 2006 Annual Meeting were: Colin G. Campbell, chairman and president, The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation; Jessica P. Einhorn, Dean, Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies of the Johns Hopkins University; James H. Keyes, chairman, Johnson Controls, Inc.; and David L. Shedlarz, vice president and chief financial officer, Pfizer Inc.

Other items of business included ratification of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as the company's independent accountants for 2003 and stockholder approval of a proposal relating to the company's Rights Plan.

Pitney Bowes is the world's leading provider of integrated mail and document management systems, services and solutions. The $4.4 billion company helps organizations of all sizes engineer the flow of communication to reduce costs and increase impact, and enhance customer relationships. The company's 80-plus years of technological leadership has produced many major innovations in the mailing industry and more than 3,500 active patents with applications in a variety of markets, including printing, shipping, encryption, and financial services. With approximately 33,000 employees worldwide, Pitney Bowes serves more than 2 million businesses through direct and dealer operations.

     Contact:  Marianne Fulgenzi
     Director, External Affairs
     (203) 351-6974
     mariane.fulgenzi@pb.com 

SOURCE  Pitney Bowes Inc.
    -0-                             05/12/2003
    /CONTACT:  Marianne Fulgenzi, Director, External Affairs of Pitney Bowes
Inc., +1-203-351-6974, mariane.fulgenzi@pb.com/
    /Web site:  http://www.pitneybowes.com/
    (PBI)

CO:  Pitney Bowes Inc.
ST:  Connecticut
IN:  OFP
SU:


SL 
-- NYM186 --
3423 05/12/2003 15:27 EDT http://www.prnewswire.com