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Tina Grady Barbaccia

For industrial equipment auctioneer Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers, earnings for the six months ended June 30, 2011 were $43.3 million, or $0.41 per diluted share, and adjusted net earnings were $40.3 million, or $0.38 per diluted share, the company announced Aug. 5.

This compares to net earnings of $38.8 million and adjusted net earnings of $38.0 million, or $0.36 per diluted share, for the six months ended June 30, 2010, representing a 6-percent increase in adjusted net earnings. Adjusted net earnings is a non-GAAP financial measure and is defined below.

The company’s auction revenues for the first six months of 2011 grew 9 percent to $203.0 million compared to $186.8 million for the same period in 2010. The company conducted 105 unreserved industrial auctions in 13 countries throughout North America, Europe, the Middle East, Central America and Australia during the first half of 2011. All dollar amounts in this release are presented in U.S. dollars.

Gross auction proceeds and auction revenues
For the six months ended June 30, 2011, gross auction proceeds were $2.0 billion, 16 percent higher than the first half of 2010 and the largest first half gross auction proceeds in the company’s history.

Gross auction proceeds is a non-GAAP financial measure and is described below. The company’s auction revenue rate (auction revenues as a percentage of gross auction proceeds) was 10.14 percent during the first six months of 2011 compared to 10.81 percent in the first half of 2010. The Company’s at risk business comprised of guarantee and purchase contracts, represented 36 percent of gross auction proceeds in the first half of 2011.

The Company achieved gross auction proceeds of $1.1 billion for the second quarter of 2011, representing a 21 percent increase compared to the second quarter of 2010. Auction revenues were $114.5 million for the three months ended June 30, 2011, compared to $103.3 million for the second quarter of 2010, an increase of 11 percent. The company’s auction revenue rate was 9.96 percent for the second quarter of 2011 and 10.86 percent for the second quarter of 2010.

Quarterly dividend
The Company also announces a 7 percent increase to its quarterly cash dividend. The quarterly cash dividend of $0.1125 per common share is payable on Sept. 9, 2011 to shareholders of record on August 19, 2011.

Net earnings for the quarter
Net earnings and adjusted net earnings for the quarter ended June 30, 2011 were $26.8 million, or $0.25 per diluted share, compared to net earnings for the three months ended June 30, 2010 of $26.1 million and adjusted net earnings of $25.3 million, or $0.24 per diluted share.