WASHINGTON, May 17, 2004 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Watson Wyatt & Company Holdings (NYSE:WW), a leading international human capital consulting firm, today announced that its board of directors has approved the initiation of a quarterly cash dividend in the amount of $0.075 per share. The first quarterly dividend payment will be made on July 15, 2004, to shareholders of record as of June 30, 2004.

"Our continued success in maintaining profitability and strong free cash flows give us confidence that we can support the growth of our business and at the same time return cash to shareholders through a dividend," said John Haley, president and chief executive officer of Watson Wyatt. "We believe this dividend, combined with our recent share repurchase, demonstrates the ongoing strength and stability of our company."

About Watson Wyatt

Watson Wyatt is an international human capital consulting firm that provides services in the areas of employee benefits, human capital strategies and related technology solutions. The firm is headquartered in Washington, D.C., and has 3,880 associates in 61 offices in the Americas and Asia-Pacific. Together with Watson Wyatt LLP, a leading Europe-based consulting partnership, the firm operates globally as Watson Wyatt Worldwide. Watson Wyatt Worldwide has more than 6,000 associates in 88 offices in 30 countries.

Statements in this press release regarding projections and expectations of future earnings, revenues, operations, business trends and other such items are forward-looking statements. A number of risks and uncertainties exist which could cause actual results to differ materially from the results reflected in these forward-looking statements. Such factors include but are not limited to our continued ability to recruit and retain qualified associates; outcomes of litigation; the ability of the company to obtain professional liability insurance; a significant decrease in the demand for the consulting services we offer as a result of changing economic conditions or other factors; actions by competitors offering human resources consulting services; regulatory, legislative and technological developments that may affect the demand for or costs of our services and other factors discussed under "Risk factors" in the company's Annual Report on Form 10-K dated September 23, 2003, which is on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These statements are based on assumptions that may not come true. All forward-looking disclosure is speculative by its nature. The Company undertakes no obligation to update any of the forward-looking information included in this report, whether as a result of new information, future events, changed expectations or otherwise.

SOURCE: Watson Wyatt & Company Holdings

For Watson Wyatt
Carl D. Mautz, 202-715-7056
or
For Lippert Heilshorn & Associates, Inc.
Investor Relations:
Jody Burfening, 212-838-3777
or
Media Contact:
Chenoa Taitt, 212-838-3777

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