Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers Incorporated (NYSE: RBA; TSX: RBA) announces that it achieved net earnings of $76.0 million, or $2.17 per diluted weighted average share, for the year ended December 31, 2007, representing growth of 33% over 2006 net earnings of $57.2 million, or $1.64 per diluted weighted average share. All dollar amounts are presented in United States dollars.

The Company achieved gross auction proceeds of $3.19 billion for 2007, 17% higher than gross auction proceeds in 2006 and an all-time record for the Company. Record auction revenues of $315.2 million for 2007 were 21% higher than in 2006. The Company’s auction revenue rate (auction revenues as a percentage of gross auction proceeds) was 9.89% in 2007, compared to 9.59% in 2006. Net earnings in 2007 increased over 2006 primarily as a result of higher gross auction proceeds and a stronger auction revenue rate.

Ritchie Bros. conducted 183 industrial auctions in 13 countries throughout North America, Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Australia in 2007. The Company set 19 regional gross auction proceeds records during the year, including the largest auction held in the Company’s history in February 2007 at the Company’s permanent auction site in Orlando, Florida with gross auction proceeds of $172 million. The Company also held 177 unreserved agricultural auctions during 2007, generating gross auction proceeds of $131.9 million.

The Company had a record of more than 254,000 bidder registrations at its unreserved industrial auctions in 2007, of which approximately 80,000 were successful buyers. In 2006, the Company had more than 241,000 bidder registrations, of which approximately 74,000 were buyers.

Posted: 02|21|08 at 9:57 am. Filed under: Auction News.