Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers Sets New Records at Prince George and Texas auctions
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 17, 2006
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA Last week, Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers (NYSE: RBA, TSX: RBA), the world's largest industrial auctioneer, held three unique and record-breaking auctions in Prince George, British Columbia; Lubbock, Texas; and Fort Worth, Texas.
Fort Worth, TX July 12/13, 2006
The large multi-day auction was held Wednesday, July 12 and Thursday, July 13, at Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers permanent auction site in Fort Worth, Texas. More than 2,900 items were sold, accounting for gross auction sales of over US$40 million.
"We had a good selection of equipment in the auction and achieved strong prices," said David Hobbs, Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers Division Manager. "We had people come from all over the world to attend this auction. We also had high internet participation, with over 800 people registering to bid online."
More than 2,400 bidders registered for the auction from 32 countries, 47 U.S. states, and 10 Canadian provinces. A Fort Worth internet record was broken, when a record 165 internet buyers purchased online. They bought over US$8.5 million worth of transportation and construction equipment, using the Company's rbauctionBid-Live real-time bidding service.
Prince George, BC July 13, 2006
The unreserved public auction held at Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers permanent auction site in Prince George, B.C. generated record-breaking gross auction sales results. The auction, held on July 13, sold over 1,200 items and generated gross auction sales in excess of CA$21 million the highest gross auction sales to ever be recorded in Prince George.
"A combination of quality equipment and the largest selection of real estate ever featured at one of our Canadian industrial auctions attracted people from near and far," said George Willows, Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers Regional Manager. "Our ability to reach a wide range of buyers around the world also contributed to the success of the sale. In fact, we also broke our Prince George record for the largest number of internet participants at one of our auctions."
More than 1,900 registered bidders from 12 countries, 23 U.S. states, all 10 Canadian provinces, plus two Canadian territories, took part in the unreserved auction. From these, a record 332 bidders registered for the Prince George auction using the Company's real-time bidding service, rbauctionBid-Live. Fifty-one internet participants also a record for Prince George purchased equipment and property at the auction.
The auction was not only record-breaking, but it was also the first time that Ritchie Bros. has simulcast the real estate portion of its auction elsewhere. The real estate portion of the auction was simulcast live and in real time at the Marriott Vancouver Airport Hotel in Richmond so that Lower Mainland bidders were able to take part locally. Over ten properties located in Gabriola Island, Lac La Hache, Prince George, and New Hazelton were sold to buyers in attendance at the Prince George auction site, the Marriott, and buyers connected to rbauctionBid-Live.
Lubbock, Texas July 15, 2006
This exciting auction week wrapped up in Lubbock, Texas, with one of the most unique unreserved public auctions ever held in company history.
Dubbed the "ultimate toy auction," by Robert Love, Territory Manager for Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers, this unreserved auction held Saturday, July 15, attracted thousands of bidders and interest from around the world. The unreserved auction was held on behalf of Robert Wilson and other owners. Robert Wilson is the court-appointed receiver for the estate of Jonathan D. 'Jody' Nelson, who pleaded guilty on April 27, 2006 to embezzling more than US$77 million from his employer.
More than 3,300 registered bidders purchased over US$7 million worth of classic cars, aircraft, watercraft, construction equipment, and sports memorabilia. The bidders came from 18 countries, 47 U.S. states, and nine Canadian provinces. Fifty-nine per cent of gross auction sales went to buyers from outside the state of Texas.
"We've been in business for over forty years, and this Lubbock sale had one of the biggest crowds we've ever seen, with strong prices all through auction day," said Love. "Registered bidders brought friends to the auction and there were a lot of people that came to watch. We figure there were 8-10,000 people in attendance on auction day. Besides the thousands of customers that drove to Lubbock and flew on commercial airplanes to attend the sale, there were fifty private airplanes that landed at the Lubbock airport so that customers could attend the sale. Every single hotel was fully booked in the area."
Highlights from the auction include the 1987 Hughes MD500E 369E helicopter that sold for US$455,000&the 2002 New Holland RG170 motor grader that sold for US$130,000&the '54 Chevy Corvette convertible that sold for US$117,500&the 2003 BMW Alpina Roadster Z8 that sold for US$125,000&the 1977 Cessna 182Q Skylane II aircraft that sold for US$140,000&the 2002 Fountain Lightning 42' boat that sold for US$210,000&and the 2003 Harley Davidson Fat Boy 100th Anniversary edition motorcycle that sold for US$20,500.
Many bidders were highly interested in the autographed sports memorabilia. Highlights from the auction include: - US$9,500 for the Babe Ruth autographed display (including player transfer agreement and photograph) - US$8,500 for the 2004 Boston Red Sox team autographed jersey - US$8,500 for the framed pictures and three autographed baseballs from Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, and Ted Williams - US$6,250 for the Mickey Mantle autographed jersey - US$6,000 for the Michael Jordan autographed jersey - US$6,000 for the Steve Nash autographed jersey
Close to 900 bidders registered for the Lubbock auction using the Company's real-time internet bidding service, rbauctionBid-Live. A total of 37 internet buyers purchased items worth more than US$1.5 million. Internet participants were winner or runner-up bidder on 36% of the items available for online purchase.
There are over 38 unreserved industrial auctions and seven unreserved agricultural auctions in the upcoming Ritchie Bros. auction calendar. Details on all upcoming Ritchie Bros. auctions are available on www.rbauction.com.
About Ritchie Bros. Ritchie Bros. is the world's largest auctioneer of industrial equipment, operating through over 110 locations in more than 25 countries around the world. The Company sells, through unreserved public auctions, a broad range of used and unused industrial equipment including equipment utilized in the construction, transportation, material handling, mining, forestry, petroleum, marine, real estate, and agricultural industries. The Company maintains a web site at www.rbauction.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.
