Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers Finishes Record-Breaking Agricultural Auction Month
biz.yahoo.com
Monday May 7, 10:00 am ET
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(MARKET WIRE)--May 7, 2007 -- Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers (Toronto:RBA.TO)(NYSE:RBA), the world's largest industrial and agricultural equipment auctioneer, announces record-breaking agricultural gross auction sales for the month of April. Ritchie Bros. held 95 unreserved agricultural auctions in April, generating gross auction sales of more than CA$73 million (US$65 million) for its consignors. The Company sold more than 22,000 lots at the April auctions, offering equipment and agricultural assets to more than 30,000 registered bidders (including both in-person and online registrants), making April its biggest month ever for agricultural auctions.
"The agricultural industry - both local farmers and businesses - have embraced our unreserved auction process. We saw a healthy increase in bidder registrations at our agricultural auctions in April compared to the same time last year," said Kevin Tink, Vice President of Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers agricultural and western divisions. "It's a strong marketplace and we've seen many new and active bidders participating in our spring agricultural auctions. We had a very busy auction schedule - including 25 auctions during one week in April - and the crowds were taking advantage of the great selection of farmland and equipment. It's an exciting time for us, to be able to help an increasing number of buyers and sellers at our unreserved agricultural auctions. Dealers and end-users are making Ritchie Bros. a part of their business solution, whether they need to sell one combine or buy ten agricultural tractors."
In April, the Company held what it believes was Canada's largest-ever unreserved agricultural auction (in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan on April 11, 2007). More than 3,000 registered bidders participated in the auction, with gross auction sales of more than CA$14 million (US$12 million).
"More than 5,000 people attended our Saskatoon auction, and 3,000 of them registered to bid; it was unbelievable," said Mr. Tink. "There was a large volume of extremely high calibre agricultural equipment and with the strong demand, it made for a great auction. We had bidders participating in the auction from all over Canada and the United States, and from as far away as Italy, Germany, Australia, and the United Arab Emirates." |
