Insurance Auto Auctions Drives Record Returns for Its Customers
Insurance Auto Auctions, Inc., a leading provider of automotive
salvage and claims processing services in the United States,
today announced record vehicle returns during the second
quarter.
IAA's dual bidding strategy has continued to drive more buyers
to the Company's auctions than ever before, resulting in
increased bidding activity and higher vehicle returns for its
insurance company suppliers.
"Combining the feedback we have been receiving from our
customers with our internal data, we believe our vehicle returns
were the highest in the industry during the quarter, which we
feel is a direct result of our dual bidding platform and
improved levels of customer service," said Tom O'Brien, CEO. "On
average, our returns have increased more than $300 per unit
compared to 2003, providing a significantly better return for
our insurance company suppliers. Our live auctions, most of
which feature Run & Drive(R) auction lanes, are supplemented
with our state-of-the-art Internet bidding capability, giving
our growing customer base the flexibility to see and bid on our
vehicles up close or through the Internet from anywhere in the
world in a real-time setting. Enthusiastic buyer support of our
auction model is clearly evident from the increase in buyer
participation we have experienced, both at live auctions and via
the Internet. By encouraging more buyers to come on to our
bidding platform than ever before, we believe that during the
quarter we were able to generate more bidding activity and the
highest vehicle returns in the industry."
Commenting further on the Company's recent operating
performance, O'Brien said, "We haven't missed a beat throughout
the organization since the close of the Kelso & Company
acquisition in late May. The transaction has allowed us to focus
even more of our time and energy on improving our operations and
service levels to our customers, translating into much higher
returns for our suppliers and higher profits for IAA. The
Company generated revenues of $71.9 million in the second
quarter, compared with $60.0 million in the same quarter of
2004. Gross profit margins improved to 26% in the second
quarter, up from 22% in the same quarter of last year. We also
continued to strategically expand during the quarter,
specifically in Jacksonville, Altoona and Charleston, providing
IAA with a greater geographic reach to meet the needs of our
current and potential customers. Going forward we will continue
to target new strategic opportunities that will further increase
our buyer base and maintain our momentum of generating
significantly higher returns."
S-4 Filing: Insurance Auto Auctions also filed an S-4 today that
provides supplemental financial information to the results
provided herein. Please refer to this document for additional
financial information about the Company and its quarterly
results.
About Insurance Auto Auctions, Inc.: Insurance Auto Auctions,
Inc., founded in 1982, a leader in automotive total loss and
specialty salvage services in the United States, provides
insurance companies with cost-effective, turnkey solutions to
process and sell total-loss and recovered-theft vehicles. The
Company currently has 80 sites across the United States.
Additional information about Insurance Auto Auctions is
available on the World Wide Web at:
http://www.CarLackey.com
http://www.AutoLackey.com
http://www.RichLackey.com
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