John Hancock Patriot Preferred Dividend Fund Reports Fourth Quarter Earnings

John Hancock Patriot Preferred Dividend Fund Reports Fourth
Quarter Earnings 


BOSTON, July 18  /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- John Hancock Patriot Preferred
Dividend Fund (NYSE:PPF), a closed-end fund managed by John Hancock Advisers,
LLC, reported today that net investment income was $1,951,973 for the fourth
quarter ended May 31, 2005.  For the comparable period in 2004, net investment
income was $2,028,683.

As of May 31, 2005, the net asset value per share was $14.41 with total net
assets of $157,060,369* and 7,257,200 common shares outstanding. Comparable
figures for May 31, 2004 reflect a net asset value per share of $12.97, total
net assets of $146,647,901* and 7,257,200 common shares outstanding.

John Hancock Funds, a premier investment management company, managed more than
$30.6 billion in open-end funds, closed-end funds, private accounts, retirement
plans and related party assets for individual and institutional investors as of
March 31, 2005. Additional information about the company can be found on the
website: http://www.jhfunds.com/.

John Hancock Funds is a wholly owned subsidiary of John Hancock Financial
Services, Inc., a subsidiary of Manulife Financial Corporation. Founded in
1862, John Hancock Financial Services and its subsidiaries today offer a broad
range of financial products and services, including whole, term, variable, and
universal life insurance, as well as college savings products, mutual funds,
fixed and variable annuities, long-term care insurance and various forms of
business insurance.

John Hancock is a unit of Manulife Financial Corporation, a leading
Canadian-based financial services group serving millions of customers in 19
countries and territories worldwide.  Operating as Manulife Financial in Canada
and most of Asia, and primarily through John Hancock in the United States, the
Company offers clients a diverse range of financial protection products and
wealth management services through its extensive network of employees, agents
and distribution partners.  Funds under management by Manulife Financial and
its subsidiaries were Cdn$350 billion (US$290 billion) as of March 31, 2005.
Manulife Financial Corporation trades as 'MFC' on the TSX, NYSE and PSE, and
under '0945' on the SEHK.  Manulife Financial can be found on the Internet at
http://www.manulife.com/.

The John Hancock unit, through its insurance companies, comprises one of the
largest life insurers in the United States.  John Hancock offers a broad range
of financial products and services, including whole life, term life, variable
life, and universal life insurance, as well as college savings products, fixed
and variable annuities, long-term care insurance, mutual funds and various
forms of business insurance.

* Total net assets include value of preferred shares 

DATASOURCE: John Hancock Patriot Preferred Dividend Fund



CONTACT: Kimberley Dietrich, Media Contact, [phone], or Investor

Contact, [phone], both of John Hancock 



Web site:  http://www.jhfunds.com/

http://www.manulife.com/ 

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