1 Becton Drive Franklin Lakes, NJ 07417 www.bd.com News Release [BECTON, DICKINSON LOGO] Contact: Charles Borgognoni, Corporate Communications - 201-847-6651 Patricia Spinella, Investor Relations - 201-847-5453 BD BOARD DECLARES DIVIDEND Franklin Lakes, NJ (May 20, 2003) -- The Board of Directors of BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company) (NYSE:BDX) has declared a quarterly dividend of 10 cents per common share. The dividend will be payable on June 30, 2003 to holders of record on June 9, 2003. The current indicated annual dividend rate is 40 cents per share. BD is a medical technology company that serves healthcare institutions, life science researchers, clinical laboratories, industry and the general public. BD manufactures and sells a broad range of medical supplies, devices, laboratory equipment and diagnostic products. For the fiscal year ended September 30, 2002, BD reported total revenues of $4.033 billion.