A Transformational, Record Year for Ritchie Bros. in 2015, CEO Says
The year 2015 was transformational, with record revenue and multiple opportunities for expansion and acquisition ahead, Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers CEO Ravi Salingram said as the auction specialist summed up its 2015 performance.
Ritchie Bros., the world’s largest industrial auctioneer, sold about $4.25 billion of equipment through 345 unreserved auctions and online during 2015, the company said, setting a new single-year record. Gross auction proceeds (GAP) increased 1 percent compared to 2014. TAP growth internationally was muted by the depreciation of local currencies against the U.S., thus on an organic basis using foreign exchange rates consistent with comparable periods in 2014, GAP grew 8 percent in 2015 compared to 2014.
“Much of this growth can be attributed to our success in both Canada, where GAP grew 14 percent in local currency, and the U.S. where GAP grew 7 percent,” said Saligram. “In the fourth quarter, pricing softness did affect the used equipment market, as well as our GAP performance. However, we continue to believe there are growth opportunities for the company as we enter 2016, and remain focused on executing our strategic plan.
“2015 was a transformational year for Ritchie Bros. We’ve further integrated EquipmentOne into our sales and marketing initiatives, welcomed world-class leadership to our global team, and built a stronger platform on which to grow our business through both organic growth initiatives and acquisitions. We see many opportunities to acquire companies that could expand the breadth of our services and scale of our operations.”
During the fourth quarter of 2015, Ritchie generated GAP of $1.1 billion, a 9 percent drop compared to the record fourth quarter of 2015, as market values of used equipment declined during the quarter.
Ritchie Bros. attracted record online bidder registrations and sold approximately $1.9 billion of equipment, trucks and other assets to online buyers at Ritchie Bros. auctions and EquipmentOne customers in 2015, a 6 percent increase compared to 2014 and the highest amount ever sold online by the company in one year.
Ritchie Bros. currently has 94 auctions scheduled internationally in 2015. The company is based in Vancouver, B.C., Canada.
About the Author
Michael Roth
Editor
Michael Roth has covered the equipment rental industry full time for RER since 1989 and has served as the magazine’s editor in chief since 1994. He has nearly 30 years experience as a professional journalist. Roth has visited hundreds of rental centers and industry manufacturers, written hundreds of feature stories for RER and thousands of news stories for the magazine and its electronic newsletter RER Reports. Roth has interviewed leading executives for most of the industry’s largest rental companies and manufacturers as well as hundreds of smaller independent companies. He has visited with and reported on rental companies and manufacturers in Europe, Central America and Asia as well as Mexico, Canada and the United States. Roth was co-founder of RER Reports, the industry’s first weekly newsletter, which began as a fax newsletter in 1996, and later became an online newsletter. Roth has spoken at conventions sponsored by the American Rental Association, Associated Equipment Distributors, California Rental Association and other industry events and has spoken before industry groups in several countries. He lives and works in Los Angeles when he’s not traveling to cover industry events.