Mr. Peter Blake reportds

RITCHIE BROS. AUCTIONEERS ANNOUNCES FIRST QUARTER RESULTS

Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers Inc. has released net earnings and adjusted net earnings for the three months ended March 31, 2012, of $18.0-million, or 17 cents per diluted share. This compares with adjusted net earnings of $13.6-million, or 13 cents per diluted share, for the three months ended March 31, 2011, representing a 32-per-cent increase in adjusted net earnings. Adjusted net earnings is a non-GAAP (generally accepted accounting principles) financial measure and is defined below. The company's auction revenues for the first quarter of 2012 grew 14 per cent to $101.3-million compared with $88.5-million for the same period in 2011. The company conducted 38 unreserved industrial auctions in nine countries throughout North America, Europe, the Middle East, Central America and Australia during the first quarter of 2012. All dollar amounts in this release are presented in United States dollars.

Gross auction proceeds and auction revenues

For the three months ended March 31, 2012, gross auction proceeds were $865-million, 2 per cent higher than the same period in 2011. Gross auction proceeds, a non-GAAP financial measure, are defined below. The company's auction revenue rate (auction revenues as a percentage of gross auction proceeds) was 11.71 per cent during the three months ended March 31, 2012, compared with 10.39 per cent in the same period in 2011. The company's revised fee structure, which came into effect on July 1, 2011, contributed $10.8-million to auction revenues for the first quarter of 2012. The company's at-risk business, composed of guarantee and purchase contracts, represented 29 per cent of gross auction proceeds in the first quarter of 2012 (2011: 32 per cent).

 
                          NET EARNINGS FOR THE QUARTER
                                                            Three months ended
                                           March 31, 2012       March 31, 2011

Net earnings                                $18.0-million        $16.6-million
Earnings per diluted share                          $0.17                $0.16
Adjusted net earnings                       $18.0-million        $13.6-million
Adjusted earnings per diluted share                 $0.17                $0.13

Summary comments

"We are pleased to have achieved record first-quarter gross auction proceeds and auction revenues during the first quarter; our performance was in line with our plans," said Peter Blake, Ritchie Bros. chief executive officer. "During the quarter we saw strong equipment pricing at our auctions and competition remained intense for good quality, low-hour used equipment. This was reflected in our at-risk business, which remained above historic levels. We saw improving optimism among our customers, and ongoing original equipment manufacturer backlogs have created pent-up demand for new and near-new equipment, driving strength in the used equipment market. We remain confident that our performance for 2012 is on track with our plans."

Mr. Blake continued: "Our strategic initiatives are also progressing well as we continue our efforts to develop innovative solutions to enable the world's builders to exchange equipment easily and confidently. In the first quarter we completed a key strategic initiative, our organizational realignment, and we are already seeing the positive results of this."

Quarterly dividend

The company also announces the declaration of a quarterly cash dividend of 11.25 cents per common share, payable on June 8, 2012, to shareholders of record on May 18, 2012.

Online bidding statistics

Ritchie Bros. sold over $275-million of equipment, trucks and other assets to on-line bidders during the first quarter of 2012, representing a 23-per-cent increase compared with the same period in 2011 (first quarter of 2011: approximately $223-million). Internet bidders continued to comprise over 50 per cent of the total bidder registrations at Ritchie Bros. industrial auctions during the first quarter of 2012. Since launching its real-time on-line bidding service in 2002, the company has now sold over $5.5-billion worth of trucks, equipment and other assets to on-line bidders, confirming the company's position as the world's largest seller of used equipment and trucks to on-line buyers.

Website statistics

The Ritchie Bros. website attracted roughly 1.3 million unique visitors in the first quarter of 2012, a 30-per-cent increase compared with the same period last year. Unique non-English-speaking visitors increased 30 per cent in the first quarter of 2012 compared with the first quarter of 2011.

Definitions of non-GAAP measures

The company defines adjusted net earnings as financial statement net earnings excluding the after-tax effects of excess property sales and significant foreign exchange gains or losses resulting from financing activities that are not expected to recur. Adjusted net earnings is a non-GAAP financial measure that does not have a standardized meaning and is therefore unlikely to be comparable with similar measures presented by other companies. The company believes that comparing adjusted net earnings for different financial periods provides more useful information about the growth or decline of its net earnings for the relevant financial period and identifies the impact of items which the company does not consider to be part of its normal operating results.

Gross auction proceeds represent the total proceeds from all items sold at Ritchie Bros. auctions. The company's definition of gross auction proceeds may differ from those used by other participants in its industry. Gross auction proceeds is an important measure the company uses in comparing and assessing its operating performance. It is not a measure of the company's financial performance, liquidity or revenue and is not presented in its consolidated financial statements. The company believes that auction revenues, the most directly comparable measure in its consolidated income statements, and certain other line items are best understood by considering their relationship to gross auction proceeds. Auction revenues represent the revenues earned by Ritchie Bros. in the course of conducting its auctions and consist primarily of commissions earned on consigned equipment and net profit on the sale of equipment purchased by the company and sold in the same manner as consigned equipment.

Earnings conference call

Ritchie Bros. is hosting a conference call to discuss its financial results for the three months ended March 31, 2012, at 8 a.m. Pacific Time (11 a.m. Eastern Time) on May 3, 2012. To access a live broadcast of the conference call, please go to the Ritchie Bros. website, click on about Ritchie Bros., then click on for investors. Please go to the website at least 15 minutes early to download and install any necessary audio software. A replay will be available on the website shortly after the call.

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