BC

Photo: The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

Heavy machinery populates a yard at Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers in this 2007 handout photo. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO, CCN - Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers

Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers Inc. (TSX:RBA) increased its quarterly dividend Thursday as it reported improved results for its second quarter.

The auctioneer of industrial equipment said it would pay a quarterly dividend of 12.25 cents per share, up from 11.25 cents per share.

The increase came as Ritchie Bros., which keeps its books in U.S. dollar, reported a quarterly profit of US$31.3 million or 29 cents per share for the quarter ended June 30, up from a profit of $26.8 million or 25 cents per share a year ago.

Auction revenues for the quarter grew 11% to $127.2 million compared with $114.5 million for the same period in 2011.

"Although we experienced generally strong demand and good pricing for late model equipment at our auctions, values began to level off towards the end of the second quarter," chief executive Peter Blake said in a statement.

"In addition, competition for late model equipment remained intense during the second quarter. The combination of these market factors reduced the performance of our at risk business which negatively impacted our second quarter auction revenue rate."

In May, the company bought AssetNation, Inc., an online marketplace for surplus and salvage assets, for $64 million from Spire Capital Partners, a New York-based private equity firm.