Safeway Inc. Board of Directors Declares Quarterly Dividend and Increases Stock Repurchase Authorization by $1.0 Billion09:00 EST Wednesday, December 08, 2010 PLEASANTON, Calif. (Business Wire) -- Safeway Inc. (NYSE:SWY) announced that its Board of Directors met yesterday and declared a regular quarterly cash dividend of $0.12 per share. The cash dividend will be payable on January 13, 2011 to stockholders of record at the close of business on December 23, 2010. The Board also increased the authorized level of the company's stock repurchase program by $1.0 billion to a total of $7.0 billion. Through the end of the third quarter of 2010, Safeway had repurchased approximately $5.2 billion of its stock and had approximately $800 million remaining under its stock repurchase program. The timing and volume of future repurchases will depend on market conditions. Safeway Inc. is a Fortune 100 company and one of the largest food and drug retailers in North America based on sales. The company operates 1,702 stores in the United States and western Canada and had annual sales of $40.9 billion in 2009. Safeway Inc.Christiane Pelz, 925-467-3832