Industrial equipment auctioneer Ritchie Bros. Inc. announced net earnings for the year ended Dec. 31, 2010 of $65.9 million, or $0.62 per diluted share, and adjusted net earnings of $65.2 million, or $0.61 per diluted share. This compares to $93.5 million, or $0.88 per diluted share, and $92.0 million, or $0.87 per diluted share, respectively for 2009.

This represents a year-over-year decrease of 29 percent in adjusted net earnings. Adjusted net earnings is a non-GAAP financial measure and is defined below. The company’s auction revenues for the year ended Dec. 31, 2010, were $357.4 million, compared to $377.2 million in 2009.

The company conducted 230 industrial auctions in 16 countries throughout North America, Europe, the Middle East, Central America, Asia, and Australia during 2010. All dollar amounts in this release are presented in U.S. dollars.

Quarterly dividend

The company also announced on Jan. 21, 2011 the declaration of a quarterly cash dividend of $0.105 per common share payable on March 11, 2011 to shareholders of record on Feb. 18, 2011. In 2010, the company paid about $43 million in regular cash dividends, an 8-percent increase over 2009.

Gross auction proceeds and auction revenues

Gross auction proceeds in 2010 were $3.28 billion, 6 percent lower than in 2009. Gross auction proceeds is a non-GAAP financial measure and is described below. Excluding the impact of fluctuations in the value of the U.S. dollar, gross auction proceeds, and auction revenues in local currency decreased 9 percent and 7 percent, respectively, in 2010 compared to 2009. The company’s auction revenue rate (auction revenues as a percentage of gross auction proceeds) was 10.90 percent in 2010, compared to 10.80 percent in 2009.

The company achieved gross auction proceeds of $798.6 million in the fourth quarter of 2010, a 10-percent decrease compared to $891.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2009. Auction revenues were $88.3 million for the three months ended Dec. 31, 2010, a 9-percent decrease compared to $97.1 million for the fourth quarter of 2009. Excluding the impact of fluctuations in the value of the U.S. dollar, gross auction proceeds and auction revenues decreased 10 percent and 8 percent, respectively, in the fourth quarter of 2010 compared to the fourth quarter of 2009.

Net earnings for the quarter

Industrial auction results

Average industrial auction