Ritchie Bros. reports success at Las Vegas auction, third quarter

Bidders from as far away as Russia, Saudi Arabia and Canada purchased US$23 million of equipment from a $24 million unreserved public auction held by Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers in Las Vegas last week.

More than 1,100 pieces of heavy equipment and trucks were sold in the auction, which attracted more than 1,500 onsite and online bidders from 20 countries, including 42 US states.

For the third quarter of 2008 Ritchie Bros. announced record net earnings of $74.3 million, and adjusted net earnings of $67.0 million. This compares to adjusted net earnings of $59.0 million from the same period in 2007, representing 14% growth. The company conducted 134 unreserved industrial auctions in 12 countries in North America, Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Australia, during the first nine months of 2008 and set 10 regional gross auction proceeds records during the period.