Auctioneers Figures

Christie’s sold seven out of the top 10 highest-value auction lots around the world last year – boosted by Leonardo da Vinci’s Salvator Mundi.

Released today, Sotheby’s third-quarter results indicated a significant improvement thanks largely to a boost from the latest series of Asian art auctions.

Sotheby’s revenues for the second quarter of 2017 rose 5% but its profit fell 14% to $76.9m due to a rise in expenses and a decline at its financial services arm.

Christie’s first half results show positive signs for the art auction market after a difficult 2016.

Sotheby’s latest set of results for the first quarter of 2017 showed an improvement in its fortunes over the equivalent period last year.

Sotheby’s returned to profit in the fourth quarter of 2016, attributing this to improved commissions and growing market confidence, though sales for 2016 overall were down.

Christie’s posted total sales of £4bn in 2016, a decrease of 16% compared to the previous year and well down from the art market’s high watermark of £5.1bn in 2014.

The difficulties in securing high-value works for sale lay behind a $54.5m loss posted in Sotheby’s latest set of results.

Sotheby’s latest results showed the firm has increased profits despite a significant fall in auction sales. Their share price jumped by over 15% after the figures were released earlier today.

Christie’s has experienced a sharp fall in overall sales. In figures released earlier today the company reported sales of £2.1bn for the first half of 2016, which compared to £2.9bn for the same period in 2015.

Following the release of Sotheby’s disappointing 2016 first-quarter earnings, the financial press was awash with speculation of a new investor.

The shake-up at Sotheby’s continued last week as more key senior employees – including Henry Wyndham – depart the company.

Both Sotheby’s and Christie’s saw sales fall in 2015, a sign that the art market may be slowing.

Leading auctioneers in Ireland and Scotland enjoyed a solid, if unspectacular, year of sales in 2015.

Despite some welcome exceptions, 2015 proved a unspectacular year for Britain and Ireland’s regional fine art auctioneers with one in three salerooms experiencing a fall in sales.

There was no slowing down in the Contemporary art market as the latest sales in New York posted a record for any auction series.

Sotheby’s auction and related revenues were down 12% at $105m year on year for the first quarter of 2012.