Strong demand for cranes and other equipment at unreserved Ritchie Bros. auction in Moncofa, Spain
MONCOFA, SPAIN (September 21, 2009) – Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers (NYSE and TSX: RBA), the world's largest industrial auctioneer, conducted 10 unreserved public auctions in five countries last week, including an almost €16 million (more than US$23 million) auction in Moncofa, Spain (September 17 & 18, 2009) and a successful multi-million dollar auction in Panama (September 18) – the Company's first auction in Central America since 1998.
Ritchie Bros. (www.rbauction.com) sold more than 1,800 cranes, trucks and heavy equipment items over two days at its Moncofa auction site, attracting more than 1,040 on-site and online bidders from 46 countries. Bidders from outside Spain purchased almost €9 million (US$13 million) of equipment and trucks. Among the highlights of the auction: an unused 2008 Grove GMK5220 220-ton all terrain crane that was purchased by an on-site bidder from Tunisia for €1.05 million (more than US$1.5 million).
"When you've got equipment to sell, you want to reach as many potential buyers from as many places as possible: that's what keeps prices strong," said Jeroen Rijk, Ritchie Bros. Divisional Manager. "The economy is still down in Spain and other parts of Europe, but there is still work going on around the world that's creating a need for equipment. We had a huge crowd bidding in Moncofa last week, and that strong demand resulted in good returns for our consignors. In general, prices were stronger than we've seen for some time."
Hundreds of people from 20 countries registered to bid at the Panama auction, which featured more than 300 equipment items from almost 30 consignors.
There are 74 unreserved Ritchie Bros. auctions on the auction calendar at www.rbauction.com, including the Company's first auction in India, which will take place in Hyderabad this Friday, September 25, 2009.
About Ritchie Bros.
Established in 1958, Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers (NYSE and TSX: RBA) is the world's largest industrial auctioneer, selling more equipment to on-site and online bidders than any other company in the world. The Company has over 110 locations in more than 25 countries including 39 auction sites worldwide. Ritchie Bros. sells, through unreserved public auctions, a broad range of used and unused industrial assets, including equipment, trucks and other assets utilized in the construction, transportation, agricultural, material handling, mining, forestry, petroleum and marine industries. The Company maintains a web site at www.rbauction.com and sponsors an equipment wiki at www.RitchieWiki.com.
Investors and potential investors should note that this information may not be indicative of the overall financial performance of the Company for this or any period.
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For more information contact:
Kim Schulz, Manager, Corporate Communications, Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers
Mobile: +1.604.788.5379 or email: kschulz@rbauction.com
Or
Jeroen Rijk, Divisional Manager, Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers
Moncofa auction site tel: +34.964.580.559