Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers Announces Q1 Results

May 3, 2007 • Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers, Vancouver, British Columbia, announced net earnings of U.S. $17.6 million, or $0.50 per diluted weighted average share, for the quarter ended March 31, 2007, a 33-percent increase over the comparable period in 2006.

 

Gross auction sales for the first quarter were $700 million, a record first quarter performance for the company and a 23-percent increase over the prior year's first quarter gross auction sales. Auction revenues were $69.4 million for the first quarter of 2007, an increase of 24 percent compared to the equivalent quarter in the prior year.

 

Ritchie Bros. conducted 32 unreserved industrial auctions during the quarter at locations throughout North America, Europe, the Middle East, Australia and Mexico. Four of the auctions set regional gross auction sales records, including the largest auction in the company's history in February at its permanent auction site in Orlando, Fla., which achieved gross auction sales of more than $172 million.

 

The company has also opened new permanent auction sites in Denver, Colo., to replace an existing permanent auction site in Denver, and in Columbus, Ohio. Ritchie Bros. now has 35 auction facilities around the world. The company also completed the acquisition of approximately 160 acres of land near Kansas City, Mo., on which it intends to construct a new permanent auction site to replace the company's existing regional auction unit on leased land in that city.

 

As part of its ongoing succession plans, the company also announced this week that it intends to re-establish the role of chief operating officer in early 2008 and plans to appoint Robert Armstrong, the company's chief financial officer and corporate secretary, to the position.