Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers Inc. net earnings for the nine months ended Sept. 30, 2011 were $49.9 million, or $0.47 per diluted share, and adjusted net earnings were $46.9 million, or $0.44 per diluted share.

This compares to net earnings of $52.1 million and adjusted net earnings of $51.4 million, or $0.48 per diluted share for the nine months ended Sept. 30, 2010, representing a 9 percent decrease 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 nine months of 2011 grew 5 percent to $282.7 million compared to $269.1 million for the same period in 2010. The company conducted 157 unreserved industrial auctions in 13 countries throughout North America, Europe, the Middle East, Central America and Australia during the first nine months of 2011.

“We are pleased with the successful launch of our new services and early reviews from our customers are very encouraging,” Peter Blake, the company’s CEO, said in a written statement about the earnings results. “Our third quarter earnings came in well below last year’s earnings, however our outlook for our full year results remains unchanged and we believe we are on track to achieve our targets for the year. During the third quarter, market conditions became more challenging due to economic uncertainty and the sudden erosion of confidence, particularly in the US market.  This exacerbated the already tight supply of equipment, which reflects reduced manufacturer production over the last couple of years, inhibiting the velocity of transactions in the used equipment market.

Quarterly dividend

The company also announces the declaration of its quarterly cash dividend of $0.1125 per common share payable on Dec. 9, 2011 to shareholders of record on Nov. 18, 2011.

Gross auction proceeds and auction revenues

For the nine months ended Sept. 30, 2011, gross auction proceeds were $2.7 billion, 8 percent higher than the first nine months of 2010. Gross auction proceeds is a non-GAAP financial measure and is defined below.

The company’s auction revenue rate (auction revenues as a percentage of gross auction proceeds) was 10.57 percent during the first nine months of 2011 compared to 10.85 percent in the first nine months of 2010. The company’s at risk business, comprised of guarantee and purchase contracts, represented 35 percent of gross auction proceeds in the first nine months of 2011 (first nine months of 2010 – 22 percent).

The company achieved gross auction proceeds of $673 million for the third quarter of 2011, representing a 10 percent decrease compared to the third quarter of 2010. Auction revenues were $79.7 million for the three months ended Sept. 30, 2011, compared to $82.2 million for the third quarter of 2010, a decrease of 3 percent. The Company’s auction revenue rate was 11.84 percent for the third quarter of 2011 and 10.95 percent for the third quarter of 2010. The Company’s revised fee structure, which came into effect on July 1, 2011, contributed $9 million to auction revenues during the quarter.

Net earnings for the quarter

Net earnings and adjusted net earnings for the quarter ended September 30, 2011 were $6.5 million, or $0.06 per diluted share, which is a 51 percent decrease compared to net earnings and adjusted net earnings of $13.4 million, or $0.13 per diluted share, for the three months ended September 30, 2010.