Ritchie strides ahead in first quarter

First quarter 2011 earnings were up for Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers, giving way to record proceeds and revenues, said the company.

The industrial equipment auctioneer reported net earnings of US$13.6 million for the three months up to 31 March 2011, compared to $12.7 million for the first quarter of 2010. This represented a year-on-year increase of 7%.

Auction revenues were $88.5 million, compared to $83.5 million for the same period in 2010. Gross auction proceeds were $851 million, 10% higher than in the same period in 2010. Excluding gross auction proceeds of $47 million from the sale of the megayacht Apoise in the first quarter of 2010, the increase would have been 17%.

The company conducted 37 industrial auctions in 11 countries throughout North America, Europe, the Middle East, Central America and Australia during the first quarter of 2011. It sold over $223 million of equipment, trucks and other assets to online bidders during that period, representing a 19% increase compared to the same period in 2010.

"We are pleased to have achieved the largest first quarter gross auction proceeds and auction revenues in our history. Our strong performance reflected increasing optimism among equipment owners and early signs of momentum returning to the equipment industry," said Peter Blake, Ritchie Bros. CEO remarked.

Internet bidders comprised about 46% of the total bidder registrations at Ritchie Bros. in the quarter. Since launching its real-time online bidding service in 2002, the company has sold almost $4.4 billion of assets to online bidders. This, it said, confirms Ritchie Bros.' as the world's largest seller of used equipment and trucks online.

In the future Ritchie Bros. said it is on track to introduce ancillary services, such as customer finance, insurance and warranty programmes.

"Our auction revenue rate returned to a more sustainable level during the quarter because the performance of our at risk business was lower than the above trend performance in 2010. The proportion of our business that was at risk during the quarter increased in response to customer demand as we helped them achieve their sale objectives," said Blake.

"We remain optimistic about our prospects for the balance of 2011 as the used equipment market around the world continues to return to a more balanced state. Construction activity in a number of our markets around the world remains uncertain, and sustained improvement will be important for maintaining strength in the used equipment market over the longer term," Blake added.