Ritchie Bros. auctions in Alberta demonstrate strong growth

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Apr 13, 2015, 07:00 ET

Grande Prairie, Alberta auction generates record CA$37 million of Gross Auction Proceeds
Upcoming April 28 – May 1 Edmonton auction expected to be largest Canadian auction ever held
Excess land in Edmonton to be remarketed

GRANDE PRAIRIE, AB, April 13, 2015 /CNW/ - Ritchie Bros. (NYSE and TSX: RBA), the world's largest industrial auctioneer, sold more than CA$37 million (US$30+ million) of heavy equipment and trucks at an unreserved public auction in Grande Prairie, AB on April 9 – 10, 2015. The two-day unreserved public auction attracted 6,150+ bidders from 32 countries—a new record for the Grande Prairie site. More than 2,000 equipment items and trucks were sold in the auction, including 165+ trailers, 125+ pickup trucks, 80+ truck tractors, 30+ excavators, 25+ crawler tractors, 20+ agricultural tractors and more. Every item was sold without minimum bids or reserve prices. Bids were made in person at the auction site, online at rbauction.com and by proxy.

"We had a great selection of late-model equipment and trucks, which attracted our largest crowd of bidders ever for a Grande Prairie auction—both onsite and online," said Blair Gogowich, Regional Sales Manager, Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers. "The record-breaking crowd helped us achieve strong pricing on both days of the auction. In particular, truck tractors, pickups, trailers, aggregate equipment and crawler pipelayers sold very well."

Bidders from outside Alberta purchased CA$15+ million (US$12+ million) or 40 percent of equipment (by dollar value). More than 3,350 people (55%) registered to bid online and purchased CA$21+ million (US$16+ million) or 56 percent of equipment.

Equipment in the auction was sold for 350+ sellers, including 200 items for Astro Car & Truck Sales Ltd., one of the largest used vehicle dealers in the Peace Country region.

"Selling with Ritchie Bros. is the best way to attract buyers from around the world. That's what takes it from a good sale to a great one," said Joe Knobloch, owner of Astro Car & Truck Sales Ltd. "We recently decided to restructure our company and came straight to Ritchie Bros. We have a great relationship with them and they did an amazing job of marketing our cars, trucks and trailers. We saw bidders on our vehicles from across Canada, the United States and around the world."

Auction highlights included:

Two 2015 Peterbilt 367 tri-drive truck tractors sold for a combined CA$360,000
A 2013 John Deere 290G LC hydraulic excavator sold for CA$255,000
A 2012 John Deere 850J LGP crawler tractor sold for CA$240,000
A 2011 Caterpillar 730 articulated dump truck sold for CA$195,000
A Caterpillar D6D side boom pipelayer sold for CA$155,000
A 2013 Lazer Inox 44,000L tridem tank trailer sold for CA$145,000
A 2012 John Deere 524K wheel loader sold for $130,000
A 2010 Gerrys KLH603 16-wheel double drop lowboy sold for CA$115,000
A Kenworth W900 T/A truck tractor sold for CA$61,000

Full auction results are available at rbauction.com with a free account.

AUCTION QUICK FACTS: GRANDE PRAIRIE, AB – APRIL 9 & 10, 2015

Total Gross Auction Proceeds – CA$37+ million (US$30+ million)
Amount sold to online bidders – CA$21+ million (US$16+ million)
Unique bidders (onsite and online total) – 6,150+
Unique online bidders – 3,350+
Lots sold – 2,000+
Number of sellers – 350+

Spring Edmonton auction features 7,900 equipment items and counting

On April 28 – May 1, 2015, Ritchie Bros. will host its largest Canadian auction ever, in Edmonton, AB. The first-ever four-day Canadian auction already features close to 7,900 equipment items and trucks, including 225 crawler tractors, 225+ excavators, 200+ compactors, 85+ wheel loaders, 95+ articulated dump trucks, 200+ truck tractors, 550+ trailers, 50 agricultural tractors, real estate and more. Every item will be sold to the highest bidder regardless of price, without minimum bids or reserve prices. A full list of equipment can be found at rbauction.com/Edmonton.

Update on the Sale of Excess Land in Edmonton, AB

Ritchie Bros. also wishes to disclose that the conditional sale agreement the Company entered into with a prospective purchaser of 50 acres of excess land adjacent to its Edmonton, AB auction site has been cancelled upon the expiry of the condition removal deadline. The land is currently still available for sale and is actively being marketed.

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 19 countries, including 44 auction sites worldwide. Learn more at RitchieBros.com.

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

SOURCE Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers