Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers  announced net earnings for the nine months ended September 30, 2012 of $57.4 million and adjusted net earnings of $60.2 billion. This compares to net earnings of $49.9 million and adjusted net earnings of $46.9 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2011, representing a 28% increase in adjusted net earnings. Ritchie Bros.’ auction revenues for the first nine months of 2012 grew 13% to $320.8 million compared to $282.7 million for the same period in 2011.

For the quarter ended September 30, 2012 net earnings were $8.2 million and adjusted net earnings were $9.7 million compared to net earnings and adjusted net earnings of $6.5 million for the same period in 2011, representing a 25% increase in net earnings and 48% increase in adjusted net earnings.

The company's auction revenues for the third quarter of 2012 grew 16% to a record $92.3 million compared to $79.7 million for the same period in 2011, the largest third quarter in company history.

"During the quarter we continued to see new equipment supply and demand becoming more balanced, contributing to rising new and used equipment inventory levels and a more predictable flow of used equipment to our auctions," said Peter Blake, Ritchie Bros. CEO. "We are confident about our growth prospects for the remainder of 2012 and into 2013 as we believe the evolving market conditions are very favorable for our business."

Ritchie Bros. sold over $952 million of equipment, trucks and other assets to online buyers during the first nine months of 2012, representing a 24% increase compared to the same period in 2011 (first nine months of 2011: approximately $770 million) and more than any other company in the world. Internet bidders continued to comprise over 50% of the total bidder registrations at Ritchie Bros. industrial auctions during the first nine months of 2012. On October 22, 2012, the company surpassed $1 billion in gross auction proceeds to online buyers during 2012.