Ritchie Bros. Breaks Multiple Records at CA$83 Million Edmonton, AB Auction Last Week

Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers sold more than CA$83 million (US$75+ million) of heavy equipment and trucks in Edmonton, Alberta on September 10 - 12, 2014. This auction set multiple Company records for the month of September. Ritchie Bros. also surpassed $1 billion in annual online sales for 2014 last week, nearly a month earlier than when the Company hit that same mark in 2013.

"This was our largest September sale ever. The record-breaking amount of equipment last week attracted record auction attendance for this time of year, both on-site and online," said Jim Rotlisberger, Regional Sales Manager, Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers. "The cold weather decided to arrive a little early in Alberta this year, but that definitely didn't keep the bidders away. Bidding was very active throughout all three days, which resulted in great returns for our sellers and our highest gross auction proceeds ever for a single auction in September."

More than 7,300 bidders from 48 countries, including all Canadian provinces and territories, as well as 45 US states, registered to bid in person or online for the auction. More than CA$52 million (US$47+ million) of equipment and trucks was purchased by Alberta buyers, while participants from outside the province purchased CA$31+ million (US$28+ million) for 37 percent of total gross auction proceeds. More than 4,300 of the bidders in the auction participated online and purchased close to CA$44 million (US$39+ million) of equipment.

Equipment in the auction was sold for nearly 900 sellers, including close to 100 items for Vastco Energy Group Ltd., a Nisku, Alberta-based oilfield hauling and rig moving company.

"We recently purchased this oilfield hauling company and sold a lot of surplus equipment in this auction to right-size and optimize our operations," said Bryan Winters, President of Vastco Energy Group Ltd. "We sell with Ritchie Bros. because they get us excellent returns on our equipment. The power of their advertising is second-to-none. Last week Ritchie Bros. did an excellent job selling our equipment, we would absolutely sell with them again."