Company also purchases land for second auction site in Spain
MOERDIJK, THE NETHERLANDS (April 27, 2009) – Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers (NYSE and TSX: RBA), the world's largest industrial auctioneer, sold €40 million (US$53 million) of equipment at an unreserved public auction in Moerdijk, the Netherlands last week – including €5 million (US$7 million) of equipment that was sold to online bidders. The April 22 – 24, 2009 auction set a new Ritchie Bros. Moerdijk site record for online sales. Almost 1,200 people from 58 countries in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia-Pacific region and the Americas registered to bid in person or online on more than 3,700 heavy equipment items and trucks being sold in the auction.
"The excellent selection of late model, high quality equipment in the auction and the knowledge that every item would be sold in a fair, transparent manner attracted a large international bidding audience to Moerdijk," said Ralf Harders, Ritchie Bros. Regional Manager. "The busy season for contractors has started, so many of our regular customers stayed at home and took advantage of our online bidding service to bid at our Moerdijk auction. We had a large crowd on-site, with active online participation. Reaching a large, diverse group of potential buyers from around the world is even more important for our local consignors now, with Europe going through recession."
Ritchie Bros. is also pleased to announce that it has completed the purchase of approximately 74 acres of land in Ocana, Spain (about 60km south of Madrid), on which it intends to build a new permanent auction site. The Ocana site will be the Company's second auction site in Spain, in addition to its existing regional auction unit in Moncofa.
There are 80 unreserved Ritchie Bros. auctions on the auction calendar at www.rbauction.com, including a large three-day unreserved public auction at the Company's Edmonton, Alberta auction site this week (April 28 – 30). The Edmonton auction includes more than 4,500 lots and features complete dispersals for Top Notch Construction and DBC Contracting – two well-known Alberta contractors and longtime Ritchie Bros. customers. Ritchie Bros.' Edmonton site hosted the largest Canadian auction in Company history in June 2007, selling just over 4,500 lots for CA$61 million (US$57 million).
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. The Company has over 110 locations in more than 25 countries including 38 auction sites worldwide. Ritchie Bros. sells, through unreserved public auctions, a broad range of used and unused industrial assets, including equipment, trucks and other assets utilized in the construction, transportation, agricultural, material handling, mining, forestry, petroleum and marine industries. 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.
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For more information contact:
Kim Schulz, Corporate Communications Manager, Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers
Mobile: +1.604.788.5379 or email: [email protected]
Or
Ralf Harders, Regional Manager, Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers
Moerdijk auction site tel: +31.168.392.200