Nearly $4 billion for Ritchie Bros

Industrial auctioneer Ritchie Bros posted more than US$ 3.8 billion in auction sales for 2013. A record $1.1 billion of that was just in the fourth quarter.

It was a 3 % decrease on the previous year for the Canada-based company that held 356 unreserved auctions around the world in 2013.

“We achieved some notable milestones during 2013,” said Peter Blake, Ritchie Bros CEO. “In Canada, our most established market, we continued to grow and again surpassed gross auction proceeds of over $1 billion. We also held our first auctions in both China and Finland, and reached a new record for online bidders and buyers. In fact, our online bidders purchased more than $1.4 billion of equipment in 2013, or approximately 37 % of our total sales. We’re pleased that our customers are finding convenience through our online bidding option, and comfort in the ability to test and inspect the equipment being sold in our yards before each auction. More than 43,000 consigners trusted us to sell their equipment at our industrial auctions during the year, and over 425,000 potential buyers registered to bid on items.”

Blake went on to say that in 2013 the company increased its sales force to the largest it has ever been and invested in technology to improve service and raise productivity.