Ritchie Bros. sells US$179+ million of equipment at five-day Orlando, Florida auction

News provided by

Feb 23, 2015, 07:00 ET

Company sells a record 10,500+ items and sets site records for online sales, bidders, sellers and more

ORLANDO, FL, Feb. 23, 2015 /PRNewswire/ - Ritchie Bros. (NYSE and TSX: RBA), the world's largest industrial auctioneer, sold a record-breaking 10,500+ equipment items and trucks at its premier global auction last week in Orlando, Florida. The five-day unreserved public auction (February 16 – 20, 2015) attracted 9,350+ on-site and online bidders from 81 countries and generated US$179+ million in gross auction proceeds, including a record US$66+ million sold to online buyers. Multiple Orlando auction site records were also set, including total number of registered bidders (9,350+), number of online bidders (5,000+), total number of buyers (2,650+), number of online buyers (1,300+) and number of sellers (875).

"Our February Orlando auction is the largest auction we hold each year. The record 10,500+ industrial assets sold at this year's sale, and the record number of worldwide bidders the auction attracted, demonstrates the global reach and cross-sector appeal of this multi-day event," said Ravi Saligram, Chief Executive Officer, Ritchie Bros. "In fact, we sold more transportation sector assets at this sale than any of our previous Orlando auctions before, including a record 310 truck tractors on Friday. We're also pleased with the strong performance of the transactions we underwrote at this auction."

Ritchie Bros. sold equipment for 875 sellers, including 80+ heavy construction items for Hermanos Yarull T. & Co., a civil engineering contractor based in the Dominican Republic.

"This was our first time selling with Ritchie Bros. and we were blown away by the magnitude of the auction and the efficiency of how it all came together," said Cesar Alvarez of Hermanos Yarull T. & Co. "We've been in business for more than 40 years and have tried selling equipment piece-by-piece in a variety of ways before and it was a headache. With Ritchie Bros. we just give all the equipment to them and it's done. We get better resale prices and great customer service."

The auction attracted equipment buyers from across North America and around the world, in person and online. Close to US$144 million of equipment (or 80%) was sold to buyers located outside the state of Florida, including more than US$48 million (or 27%) sold to buyers outside the country. Buyers participated from as far away as Australia, Ecuador, Thailand, Italy, the United Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates.

"We had a tremendous crowd at last week's Orlando auction, with a large presence both on site and online," said Steve Kriebel, Regional Sales Manager, Ritchie Bros. "This resulted in strong prices throughout the week, particularly on crawler tractors, excavators and transportation equipment."

The record-setting selection of equipment in the Orlando auction included 500+ compactors, 450+ excavators, 270+ wheel loaders, 240 crawler tractors, 310 truck tractors, 200+ van trucks, 90+ dump trucks and more. Every item was sold without minimum bids or reserve prices.

AUCTION QUICK FACTS: ORLANDO, FL – FEBRUARY 16 – 20, 2015

Total Gross Auction Proceeds (in-person and online): US$179+ million
Amount sold online: US$66+ million
Unique registered bidders (total): 9,350+ from 81 countries, including all 50 U.S. states
Unique registered online bidders: 5,000+
Online buyers: 1,300+
Total number of lots sold: 10,500+
Total number of sellers: 875

There are more than 125 auctions listed in the upcoming Ritchie Bros. auction calendar, including the Company's first auctions of 2015 in Canada and Europe. For a complete list of upcoming Ritchie Bros. auctions around the world, visit rbauction.com. The next Orlando, FL auction is scheduled for May 21, 2015—equipment owners interested in selling their equipment in the auction can contact the site at +1.863.420.9919.

About Ritchie Bros.

Established in 1958, Ritchie Bros. (NYSE and TSX: RBA) is the world's largest seller of used equipment for the construction, transportation, agriculture, material handling, energy, mining, forestry, marine and other industries. Ritchie Bros.^TM solutions make it easy for the world's builders to buy and sell equipment with confidence, including live unreserved public auctions with on-site and online bidding (rbauction.com), the EquipmentOne^TM secure online marketplace (EquipmentOne.com), a professional corporate asset management program, and a range of value-added services, including equipment financing for customers through Ritchie Bros. Financial Services (rbauction.com/financing). Ritchie Bros. has operations in more than 25 countries, including 44 auction sites worldwide. Learn more at RitchieBros.com.

Forward looking statements

This press release may contain forward-looking information. Such forward looking information involves material assumptions, risks and uncertainties, certain of which are beyond the control of Ritchie Bros. Such assumptions, risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, factors influencing the supply of and demand for used equipment, fluctuations in market conditions and values of used equipment, seasonal and periodic variations in operating results, actions of competitors, the success of the Company's new initiatives, economic and other conditions in local, regional and global markets, and other risks and uncertainties as detailed from time to time in the Company's securities filings. Ritchie Bros.' actual achievements could differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, this forward-looking information and, accordingly, no assurances can be given that any of the events anticipated by the forward-looking information will transpire or occur. Any forward-looking information is made as at the date of this press release and Ritchie Bros. does not undertake any obligation to update publicly or to revise any of the included forward-looking information, except as may be required by applicable securities laws.

PHOTOS & INFOGRAPHIC FOR MEDIA USE: Three photos and an infographic have been attached to this news release. For more photos from last week's Orlando auction, please visit rbauction.com/media

SOURCE Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers