STAMFORD, Conn., March 9 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Pitney Bowes Inc. (NYSE: PBI) today announced that its Board of Directors authorized the repurchase of up to an additional $300 million of the company's common stock. With this additional authorization, the company now has a total of $500 million remaining authorization for future repurchases. Including shares repurchased to date, the company expects to repurchase up to $350 million in the open market by the end of this year.

This move demonstrates the Board's confidence in the company's strategic direction according to Michael J. Critelli, Chairman and CEO, Pitney Bowes Inc. "Several years ago we embarked upon a very disciplined course of strategic transformation to deliver enhanced value to shareholders and customers. We have emerged as a stronger, more focused company as reflected in our 2005 performance that featured excellent growth in revenue and earnings before interest and taxes. We are confident in our ability to provide sustained growth and shareholder value as we execute our mailstream strategies."

Pitney Bowes provides the world's most comprehensive suite of mailstream systems, software, services and solutions to help companies manage their flow of mail, documents and packages to improve communication. Pitney Bowes, with $5.5 billion in annual revenue, takes an all-inclusive view of its customers' operations, helping organizations of all sizes enjoy the competitive advantage that comes from an optimized mailstream. The company's 85 years of technological leadership have produced many major mailstream innovations, and it is consistently on the Intellectual Property Owners Association's list of top U.S. patent holders. With approximately 34,000 employees worldwide, Pitney Bowes serves more than 2 million businesses through direct and dealer operations. More information about the company can be found at http://www.pb.com.

    Contact:  Sheryl Y. Battles
              VP, Corp. Communications
              203/351-6808


SOURCE  Pitney Bowes Inc.
    -0-                             03/09/2006
    /CONTACT:  Sheryl Y. Battles, VP, Corp. Communications, +1-203-351-6808,
or Charles F. McBride, VP, Investor Relations, +1-203-351-6349, both of Pitney
Bowes/
    /Web site:  http://www.pb.com /
    (PBI)

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

AS
-- NYTH156 --
1301 03/09/2006 17:06 EST http://www.prnewswire.com