FAIRFIELD, Calif. -

An investment analyst asked Copart chief executive officer Jay Adair Thursday whether the company’s vast amount of ongoing technology and infrastructure changes should be viewed as ways to improve efficiencies or secure market-share gains. Adair didn’t hesitate to say the reason was to boost both.

In a conference call to discuss the company’s third-quarter performance during its 2011 fiscal year, Adair spent plenty of time talking about the salvage auction company’s past as well as what it’s doing now to position itself for 2012 and beyond.

“It’s fun to look back at all of the changes that have taken place in our industry and in our company,” Adair began.

“I look back and think of Copart in chapters and talk internally about the different events that have taken place over the years since being founded back in 1982,” he continued. “Then the company went public in 1994 by achieving outstanding growth and then took on the role of technology and leading the industry in technology with online platforms, vehicle imaging and online bidding. That’s all pretty standard in the industry today. Everyone has an online presence and bidding platform.”

Copart hopes what Adair described as standard procedures in salvage auctions are being enhanced through the strategies and investments of the undertaking.

The company announced back in February that it plans to shift is corporate headquarters from its current location in Fairfield, Calif., to Dallas. Adair said that relocation is set to be finalized next summer.

Meanwhile, Copart also is opening process centers in Fairfield, Dallas as well as Hartford, Conn.

What Adair indicated was the greatest task, however, was the implementation of new technology systems that will operate its corporate backbone for both U.S. and U.K. operations as well as its online platforms. He thinks the system should be ready for launch next year because of all of the groundwork currently being put down.

“This will be a big, big shift in our ability to perform going forward,” Adair emphasized.

“We’re focused on eliminating processes that are clunky,” Adair continued. “iPhones didn’t exist five years ago. iPads didn’t exist five years ago. We’re in a new technology age today where people expect mobile computing, data at their fingertips and mobile bidding. That’s the road we’re headed down. That’s going to drive efficiency. That’s going to drive unit growth because the more transparent you are, the more information you can give your customer and the more likely they are to see the results they can get through the tools you offer. They’re going to be more apt to use them.”

And Adair is thinking the salvage industry is going to welcome what Copart will offer.

“If I look back 15 years ago or 10 years ago, we were a company that sold damaged cars for the insurance industry,” Adair recollected.

“Now we don’t look at it that way. We’re a technology company that liquidates vehicles for a number of different segments,” Adair pointed out while adding that insurance volume represents about 80 percent of the company’s work and non-insurance volume is about 20 percent.

“This is bigger than just moving the company,” he went on to say. “This is about how we’re handling processes and repositioning the way we think.”

Copart Reports 3Q Financial Performance

Copart wrapped up its third quarter on April 30 with double-digit gains in both operating income and net income.

The company calculated that its third-quarter operating income came in at $82 million, a 13.7-percent or $9.9-million climb from the same quarter last year. Copart’s $50.1 million in net income translated into a 12.9-percent or $5.7-million rise year-over-year.

Sparking those gains was a $16.4-million or 7.4-percent uptick in Copart’s third-quarter revenue, which was $236.8 million

Officials determined fully diluted earnings per share for the third quarter were 71 cents compared to 52 cents a year ago, translating into an increase of 36.5 percent.

Looking at the first nine months of its 2011 fiscal year, Copart again reported strong year-over-year climbs in revenue, operating income and net income.

—Revenue: $656.8 million, up $74.4 million or 12.8 percent.

—Operating income: $201.8 million, up $20.0 million or 11.0 percent.

—Net income: $125.9 million, up $10.5 million or 9.1 percent.

Management also pointed out that fully diluted earnings per share for the nine months that ended April 30 were $1.59 compared to $1.36 last year, an increase of 16.9 percent.

Finally during the third quarter, Copart mentioned the company repurchased 1,441,542 shares of its common stock at a weighted average price of $43.03 per share under its share repurchase program. At the end of the quarter, Copart had 11,537,912 shares available for repurchase under its share repurchase program.

“I think the results speak for themselves,” Adair stressed. “We’re excited about direction of the company.”