Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers sold approximately $4.33 billion of equipment through 356 unreserved auctions and its online equipment marketplace during 2016. This is a new annual record for the Company, and represents a 2% increase in gross auction proceeds (GAP) compared to 2015.
"During 2016 we made strategic investments and acquisitions to better position our business for future growth, including the addition of an equipment sales listing offering, obtaining full ownership of Ritchie Bros. Financial Services, key bolt-on acquisitions to bolster our strength in certain regions and sectors, and the announcement of our impending acquisition of IronPlanet. All of these initiatives have built a stronger platform for our customers and shareholders as we expand our service offering and the solutions we provide equipment sellers.
"Mr. Saligram continued: "The two percent GAP growth we recorded this year was negatively affected by lower equipment values relative to last year, though lot volume, buyers, consignors and registered bidders all grew substantially from 2015, indicating strong operational growth. Lot volumes grew nearly 13%, the number of buyers and consignors grew by 12%, and the number of registered bidders grew by 8%. Regionally, our Canadian business led growth, and achieved yet another record year."
During the fourth quarter of 2016, the Company generated gross auction proceeds of $1.0 billion, a decrease of 9% compared to the fourth quarter GAP achieved last year. On a constant currency¹ basis, GAP declined 8.5% during the fourth quarter of 2016 compared to the fourth quarter of 2015. As previously discussed on Ritchie Bros.' Q3 2016 earnings call, auction timing differences did affect the quarter, with both the fall Montreal and Columbus auctions of 2016 occurring in the third quarter this year, rather than in the fourth quarter as they did in 2015.
Ritchie Bros. conducted its final unreserved auction of 2016 on Wednesday, December 21 in St. Louis, Missouri. The Company plans to release its full audited financial results for 2016 before market open on February 20, 2017.