Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers achieves over $1 billion of gross auction proceeds in second quarter and increases dividend
biz.yahoo.com
Friday August 8, 7:00 am ET
VANCOUVER, Aug. 8 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ - Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers Incorporated (NYSE and TSX: RBA
) announces another record-breaking quarter, with quarterly gross auction proceeds exceeding $1 billion for the first time. Net earnings for the six months ended June 30, 2008 reached $62.3 million, or $0.59 per diluted weighted average share. Net earnings for the first half of 2008 would have been $55.0 million, or $0.52 per diluted share, had after-tax gains of $7.3 million on the sale of excess property been excluded. The Company has highlighted these gains because it does not consider them to be part of its normal operating results. This compares to net earnings of $44.1 million, or $0.42 per diluted share for the six months ended June 30, 2007, representing earnings growth of 25% over the first half of 2007. All dollar amounts are presented in United States dollars and all share and per share information reflects the three-for-one split of the Company's common shares that occurred at the close of business on April 24, 2008.
Gross auction proceeds for the six months ended June 30, 2008 were $1.95 billion, 18% higher than gross auction proceeds for the first half of 2007. Auction revenues increased 21% to $197.2 million for the six months ended June 30, 2008 compared to the first six months of 2007. The Company's auction revenue rate (auction revenues as a percentage of gross auction proceeds) was 10.14% in 2008, compared to 9.88% in the first half of 2007.
The Company achieved gross auction proceeds of $1.16 billion in the second quarter of 2008, representing a 23% increase compared to the second quarter of 2007. Auction revenues were $115.8 million for the three months ended June 30, 2008, compared to $94.1 million for the second quarter of 2007. The Company's auction revenue rate was 9.95% for the second quarter of 2008. Net earnings for the three months ended June 30, 2008 were $45.9 million, or $0.43 per diluted share. Had after-tax gains on the sale of excess property been excluded, net earnings would have been $38.6 million, or $0.37 per diluted share, which represented a 45% increase over the prior year. |
