Ritchie Bros. sets Canadian records for online sales and online bidder participation at CA$84 million Edmonton auction

Global confidence in the equipment marketplace demonstrated at the Company's second largest Canadian equipment auction ever

EDMONTON, May 2 /PRNewswire/ - Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers (NYSE: RBA) and (TSX: RBA), the world's largest industrial auctioneer, sold CA$84 million (US$89 million) worth of equipment and trucks last week (April 27 - 29) during a three-day unreserved public equipment auction at its permanent auction site in Edmonton, Alberta. The auction set new Company records for most equipment sold online and for the most registered bidders to participate online at a Canadian auction. In addition, last week's Edmonton auction set a new record for most unique buyers at a Canadian auction and was the second largest Canadian auction ever in terms of gross auction proceeds.

In total, more than 7,100 unique on-site and online bidders from 41 countries competed for over 5,300 equipment items and trucks. Of those, more than 2,800 people bid online, purchasing more than CA$23 million (US$25 million) or 28 percent of equipment.

Approximately CA$34 million (US$36 million), or 40 percent of equipment in the auction was also purchased by buyers from outside Alberta, from as far away as Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Australia, Japan, India, Peru, Germany and Thailand.

"We were fortunate to have over 750 quality consignors contribute to the more than 5,300 lots sold, which resulted in some very large asset categories, including more than 130 crawlers tractors, more than 120 hydraulic excavators, 150 truck tractors and hundreds of rental pieces," said Jake Lawson, Regional Manager, Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers. "Overall, the diverse selection of equipment available at the auction drew thousands of bidders from around the world. Bidders competed aggressively on-site and online and pricing on equipment was very strong. This depth in the marketplace is consistent with the robust demand for quality equipment we've seen lately and reflects our ability to attract the global market to our auctions, regardless of the location."

The April 27 - 29 Edmonton auction featured complete dispersals for Fleming Cats Inc. and Rickard Excavation's Logging Division, and major realignments for A-1 Town & Country Rentals and Graham Bros. Construction Group Ltd.

Guy Turnball, owner of A-1 Town & Country Rentals, an equipment rental company based in Camrose, Alberta, sold more than 300 equipment items in the auction. Equipment from A-1 Town and Country Rentals included light towers, telescopic and electric forklifts, skid steer loaders, boom and scissor lifts, trailers, welders, compressors and generator sets.

"I've been buying and selling equipment through Ritchie Bros. for more than 25 years and they have always treated me well from start to finish," said Mr. Turnball. "Since 2009, I've conducted major realignments through them as a way to turnover some of the older inventory in my rental fleet and have always achieved good results. The fact that every item in the auction is sold unreserved gives bidders confidence, and the ability for people to bid online for equipment from anywhere in the world helped me to get a higher return on my items in last week's Edmonton sale."

There are currently over 60 upcoming public unreserved auctions on the Ritchie Bros. auction calendar available at www.rbauction.com. The next Ritchie Bros. public unreserved auction in Edmonton is scheduled for mid-June 2011. Interested buyers and sellers can contact the Edmonton auction site at +1.780.955.2486.

AERIAL PHOTO: A recent aerial photo of the Ritchie Bros. Edmonton auction site taken last week is available for media to use at http://www.rbauction.com/web/rba/media/photos-and-videos/aerial-photos

About Ritchie Bros.
Established in 1958, Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers (NYSE and TSX: RBA) is the world's largest industrial auctioneer, selling more equipment to on-site and online bidders than any other company in the world. Ritchie Bros. offers services that enable the world's builders to easily and confidently exchange equipment. The Company conducts hundreds of unreserved public auctions each year, selling a broad range of used and unused equipment, trucks and other assets utilized in the construction, transportation, agricultural, material handling, mining, forestry, petroleum and marine industries. Ritchie Bros. has over 110 locations in more than 25 countries, including 43 auction sites worldwide. The Company maintains a web site at www.rbauction.com and sponsors an equipment wiki at www.RitchieWiki.com.

Investors and potential investors should note that this information may not be indicative of the overall financial performance of the Company for this or any period.

ATTENTION MEDIA: Photos and other media resources are available for use at http://www.rbauction.com/media.
Members of the public and the media can follow Ritchie Bros. on Twitter @RitchieBros.

SOURCE Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers