Salt Lake City, Utah - Utah Medical Products, Inc. (Nasdaq: UTMD) announces that its Board of Directors approved a quarterly cash dividend of twenty-three cents ($.23) per share of common stock payable on

City, Utah - Utah Medical Products, Inc. (Nasdaq: UTMD) announces that its Board

of Directors approved a quarterly cash dividend of twenty-three cents ($.23) per

share of common stock payable on January 5, 2009 to shareholders of record at

the close of business on December 16, 2008. This is a two percent

(2%) increase over the dividend declared in the same quarter of the prior

year. Since initiation in May 2004, UTMD dividends have steadily

increased, with the current dividend 53% higher than the dividend announced at

this time of the year four years ago.

established its current shareholder dividend program after the tax reduction on

corporate dividends was enacted by Congress in 2003. Since the IRS

tax rate on corporate dividends was set the same as for long term capital gains,

UTMD's management viewed the payment of a dividend as simply an earlier return

on a long-term shareholder's investment in UTMD stock.

keeping with SEC guidance that firms should disclose non-firm-specific risk

factors that may have a material impact, UTMD notes that if a new Administration

and Congress decide to substantially increase income taxes on corporate

dividends, which is being proposed by some running for election in November,

UTMD management will have to reconsider whether or not it's in its long term

shareholders' best interest to suspend payment of its corporate dividend in

favor of increased repurchases of its shares. Shareholder input on

this issue is welcome.

Medical Products, Inc., with particular interest in health care for women and

their babies, develops, manufactures, assembles and markets a broad range of

disposable and reusable specialty medical devices.