RITCHIE BROS. AUCTIONEERS INCORPORATED
9500 GLENLYON PARKWAY, BURNABY, BRITISH COLUMBIA V5J 0C6
Dear Fellow Shareholders,
On behalf of the Board of Directors we cordially invite you to the Company’s 2021 Annual Meeting of Shareholders to be held on May 6, 2021 at 11:00 a.m. Pacific Time. This year, we will be conducting a virtual-only meeting due to the public health impact of COVID-19. Registered shareholders may participate in our annual meeting online by way of live webcast as outlined in this proxy.
2020 was an unprecedented year as the COVID-19 pandemic had a devastating impact on public health and created a global economic recession and uncertainty. In the face of this adversity, I am proud of how the entire team at Ritchie Bros. came together as a company to help and serve our customers, each other, and our communities while keeping health and safety a top priority.
Ann Fandozzi, our new Chief Executive Officer is off to a great start despite challenges posed by COVID-19. Strategic decisions made by Ann, combined with our prior investments in technology allowed for a seamless pivot to 100% online bidding in response to the pandemic. Under Ann’s leadership through this turbulent time, Ritchie Bros. had a record-breaking year from a financial perspective. In 2020 we grew our Gross Transaction Value ~5%, with service revenue increasing ~8%. The transition to 100% online bidding combined with our COVID protocols drove strong margin expansion that delivered ~18% increase in operating income. In addition we increased our dividend per share in 2020 and returned a total of $145m to shareholders through share repurchases and dividends. I am also pleased to note that in these uncertain times, Sharon Driscoll, our Chief Financial Officer, has done a great job protecting and strengthening the balance sheet while giving us the flexibility we need to engage in strategic opportunities that will enhance the long-term value of the company, such as acquiring Rouse Services in December of 2020.
Despite the challenges of COVID-19, Ritchie Bros. continued to develop as an organization by putting in place several new senior leaders, acquiring Rouse Services, and completing a comprehensive strategic review in 2020. We believe these steps will pave the way for Ritchie Bros. to become more of a technology company that will pursue the strategic vision of becoming the trusted global marketplace for insights, services, and transaction solutions for commercial assets. This vision is supported by five strategic pillars: Deliver the best customer experience, Deliver the best employee experience, Implement a modern digital architecture, Coordinate growth around an integrated inventory management system, and Accelerate growth through testing pilots and scaling learnings. In addition, Ritchie Bros. reinforced its values by prioritizing the health and welfare of our employees, customers, suppliers and others with whom we partner to run our business activities. We are strictly enforcing all local government and jurisdictional safety guidelines, and, in some instances, we are applying additional over-and-above safety measures.
In 2020 we also took our first step in telling our Environmental, Social, Governance (ESG) story by publishing our inaugural sustainability report which is available at our website at https://investor.ritchiebros.com/Sustainability/default.aspx. We understand that Ritchie Bros can be an agent for change in issues that are critical for society and pride ourselves on deep-rooted social commitments to our local communities. Environmentally, Ritchie Bros. is one of the world’s largest practical green re-commerce companies enabling the circular economy by facilitating re-use of equipment. We understand that ESG is not a destination, but a journey and we continue to have an open dialog with all our stakeholders to have a meaningful impact.
We are excited and energized by the future we see ahead for Ritchie Bros. with our new CEO and leadership team and our strategic vision. On behalf of the Board of Directors, thank you for your ongoing support and confidence in, Ritchie Bros.
Sincerely,
Erik Olsson
Chair of the Board
Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers Incorporated
March 23, 2021