Sotheby's Second Quarter and First Half 2011 Earnings
SOTHEBY’S HIGHLIGHTS
FIRST SIX MONTHS 2011
“This is the best quarter in Sotheby’s history,” said Bill Ruprecht, President and Chief Executive of Sotheby’s. “Great works of art are enormously desirable to collectors from every corner of the world right now. Our operating metrics, in terms of earnings and EBITDA margins*, are at historic levels, and we continue to enjoy great opportunity in both traditional as well as newer market environments.
“Record first half consolidated sales (up by 44%) reflected the surge of activity from buyers and sellers across China as well as significant increases in auction sales in each of our four principal selling centers. Private sales, up 114% in the half, were another important contributor to these outstanding results. As I look back on these extraordinary six months for our business, the global appeal of art was one of the few constants in a period of continued economic uncertainty.”
· Record first half revenues of $489.4 million ($383.3 million in 2010)
· Record first half consolidated sales ** of $3.4 billion
· Aggregate auction sales of $2.96 billion, up 38%
· Sotheby’s sold 441 lots for over $1 million (273 lots in 2010)
· Sotheby’s Hong Kong spring series was best ever for sales series in Hong Kong ($447 million)
· Sotheby’s London June series of Contemporary Art was best ever for Contemporary Art series in London ($206 million)
*Non-GAAP financial measure. See Appendix B for a reconciliation of the non-GAAP financial measures in this release to the comparable GAAP amounts.
**Consolidated sales include auction sales, auction post sales, private sales and dealer revenue.
About Sotheby’s
Sotheby’s is a global company that engages in art auction, private sales and art-related financing activities. The Company operates in 40 countries, with principal salesrooms located in New York, London, Hong Kong and Paris. The Company also regularly conducts auctions in six other salesrooms around the world. Sotheby’s is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol BID.
Forward-looking Statements
This release contains certain “forward-looking statements” (as such term is defined in the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended) relating to future events and the financial performance of the Company. Such statements are only predictions and involve risks and uncertainties, resulting in the possibility that the actual events or performances will differ materially from such predictions. Major factors, which the Company believes could cause the actual results to differ materially from the predicted results in the “forward-looking statements” include, but are not limited to, the overall strength of the international economy and financial markets, political conditions in various nations, competition with other auctioneers and art dealers, the success of our risk reduction and margin improvement efforts, the amount of quality property being consigned to art auction houses and the marketability at auction of such property. Please refer to our most recently filed Form 10-Q (and/or 10-K) for a complete list of Risk Factors.
