Burnaby-based Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers (TSX: RBA; NYSE: RBA) broke multiple company records at the world's largest heavy equipment auction in Orlando, Florida, last week.
"In more than 50 years of business we have never held or seen an equipment auction of this magnitude, and we thank our customers and our staff for being part of this historic week," said Peter Blake, CEO of Ritchie Bros.
During the February 13 to 18 auction, Ritchie Bros. set new company records for:
- gross auction proceeds, at US$203 million;
- number of lots sold, at more than 10,000;
- total number of registered bidders, at 8,670;
- number of sellers, at 830;
- online gross auction proceeds, at more than US$47 million; and
- number of online bidders, at 4,070.
"We begin 2012 confident that we're providing compelling solutions and value to the world's builders – our Orlando auction, our third industrial auction of the year, has set the stage for us to continue carrying out our mission," Blake said.
In December, Ritchie Bros. announced that it had exceeded US$1 billion in online sales in 2011.
