Commissions revenue increased 12%, in line with the growth in Service GTV of 12%.
Inventory sales revenue increased 19% primarily in the US and International. In the US, we saw a large inventory package dispersal of construction equipment in our Phoenix, Arizona auction, partially offset by a lower volume of inventory contracts in Orlando, Florida and Atlanta, Georgia events. In International, inventory sales revenue grew in Australia primarily due to higher inventory contracts driven by the addition of a new event as well as two agricultural events and the use of local satellite yards.
Costs of services increased 3% to $39.0 million. This increase was primarily due to higher employee compensation expenses as a result of the acquisition of SmartEquip on November 2, 2021 and in our GovPlanet and Xcira businesses to support our growth strategy. Building, facilities and technology expenses also increased to support our flagship Orlando, US event, as well as the inclusion of SmartEquip’s costs. These increases were partially offset by lower ancillary and logistical service expenses, in line with the decrease in ancillary fees driven by lower lot counts and lower fees earned on redeployment of assets in the US.
Cost of inventory increased 19% to $131.6 million, in line with the increase in inventory sales revenue.
Selling, general and administrative (“SG&A”) expenses increased 11% to $126.6 million. SG&A includes share-based payments of $5.4 million, non-recurring advisory, legal, and restructuring costs charges of $2.3 million, as well as SG&A from SmartEquip of $3.1 million. The increases in SG&A were primarily due to higher professional fees mainly driven by our investment in new modern architecture to support our future marketplace and services strategy, and higher fees related to audit, SOX compliance and consulting. Wages, salaries and benefits expenses also increased, driven by a higher headcount, in part due to the acquisition of SmartEquip, as well as to accelerate our growth initiatives and our transformational journey to become a trusted global marketplace. Building, facilities and technology costs also increased due to higher licensing and subscription technology expenses as we shift to cloud-based solutions to improve customer experience and higher costs with the expansion of our local satellite yards. In addition, we saw higher global travel expenses and higher advertising and promotion costs for new tradeshow events and marketing initiatives to support new product launches. We also saw higher share-based payment expenses primarily due to the premium-priced options granted in 2021 and a higher expense from the mark-to-market revaluation of our liability-classified share units driven by a higher share price over the comparative period. These increases were partially offset by lower short-term incentive costs.
Net income attributable to stockholders increased 532% to $178.1 million, which includes a $169.1 million gain on property, plant and equipment for the sale of a property located in Bolton, Ontario. The remaining increase was primarily related to higher operating income, offset by a higher interest expense incurred on our senior notes held in escrow, and the increase in income tax expense resulting from the sale of the Bolton property. Non-GAAP adjusted net income attributed to stockholders* increased 42% to $51.0 million in Q1 2022 compared to $36.0 million in Q1 2021.
Primarily for the same reasons noted above, diluted EPS attributable to stockholders increased 540% to $1.60 per share for Q1 2022 from $0.25 per share in Q1 2021. Non-GAAP diluted adjusted EPS attributable to stockholders* increased 44% to $0.46 per share in Q1 2022.
Dividend Information
Quarterly dividend
On May 6, 2022, the Company declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.25 per common share, payable on June 17, 2022 to shareholders of record on May 27, 2022.
Q1 2022 Earnings Conference Call
Ritchie Bros. is hosting a conference call to discuss its financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2022 at 8am Pacific time / 11am Eastern time / 4pm BST on May 10, 2022. The replay of the webcast will be available through June 10, 2022.
Conference call and webcast details are available at the following link:
https://investor.ritchiebros.com