Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers Announces Q1 Results And Increases Dividend

Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers Incorporated (NYSE: RBA) announces net earnings for the six months ended June 30, 2010 of $38.9 million, or $0.37 per diluted share, and adjusted net earnings of $38.2 million, or $0.36 per diluted share. This compares to financial statement net earnings of $58.7 million, or $0.56 per diluted share, and adjusted net earnings of $58.1 million, or $0.55 per diluted share, for the first half of 2009. Adjusted net earnings is a non-GAAP financial measure and is defined below. In the first half of 2010, the company conducted 105 industrial auctions in 15 countries throughout North America, Europe, the Middle East, Central America, Asia and Australia. All dollar amounts in this release are presented in United States dollars. The company is also announcing the declaration of a quarterly cash dividend of $0.105 per common share payable on September 10, 2010 to shareholders of record on August 20, 2010. This represents a 5% increase over the company's previous quarterly dividend.