Sonoco Board Increases Common Stock Dividend by 3.4% to $0.30

The Board of Directors of Sonoco

today declared a $.30 per share quarterly common stock dividend, an increase from the previous quarterly dividend of $.29 per share. The dividend will be paid on June 8, 2012, to shareholders of record as of May 18, 2012. According to Harris E. DeLoach Jr., chairman and chief executive officer, this is the 30th consecutive year that Sonoco has increased common stock dividends and 348th consecutive quarter, dating back to 1925, that the Company has paid dividends to shareholders. If annualized, Sonoco's new dividend is projected to increase from $1.16 to $1.20 per share, an increase of 3.4 percent. Sonoco's projected annualized dividend of $1.20 per share provides a yield of approximately 3.7 percent, based on the Company's closing stock price of $32.80 as of April 17, 2012. Sonoco's dividend yield is one of the highest provided by U.S. packaging companies and is approximately 75 percent higher than the yield provided by the S&P 500.