---

OEA Announces Quarterly Dividend

24 November 1998

OEA Announces Quarterly Dividend

    DENVER, Nov. 24 -- OEA, Inc. today announced its
board of directors has approved the transition from an annual cash dividend to
a quarterly cash dividend.
    The Company said its first quarterly cash dividend of $.0825 per share
will be paid on December 23, 1998 to shareholders of record on December 11,
1998.  OEA's last annual dividend was $.33 per share, paid on December 10,
1997.
    "Continuation of our dividend underscores the board's confidence in OEA's
future," said Robert J. Schultz, chairman of the board.  "We are moving
aggressively to capitalize on growth opportunities in the automotive safety
products industry."
    OEA is the technology leader and a major manufacturer in the air bag
inflator and initiator industry.  The Company is also a leader in the design
and manufacture of personnel escape systems for military aircraft and high-
reliability devices for missile and aerospace applications.

    Certain of the information set forth above, including statements regarding
the Board's confidence in the future, including future dividend payments,
technology leadership, as well as other statements or implications regarding
future events, are "forward-looking statements" for purposes of federal
securities laws.  Actual results or events may differ materially from these
forward-looking statements depending on a variety of factors.  Reference is
made to the cautionary statements under the caption "Forward-Looking
Statements" in OEA's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended July 31,
1998 and the Company's report on Form 8-K filed on June 4, 1998 for a
description of various factors that might cause OEA's actual results to differ
materially from those contemplated by such forward-looking statements.