Copart CEO to Ring in Success

Copart CEO to Ring in Success
By Ines Bebea | Daily Republic | December 07, 2007 17:15

FAIRFIELD - Willis J. Johnson, founder and CEO of Fairfield-based Copart Inc., has plenty of reasons to smile these days.

Johnson will travel Sunday to New York, where he will ring the opening bell at NASDAQ MarketSite on Tuesday. The company's stock (NASDAQ:CPRT) rose $2.38 per share Wednesday to close at $41.69. The stock closed Friday at $41.03.

'It is an honor to be picked to ring the opening bell at NASDAQ,' Johnson said in a statement. 'It is also a tribute to all the hard work Copart employees have done over the years to make Copart a success.'

His company also reported revenue and net income increases in the first quarter of the 2007-08 fiscal year. Revenue jumped to $184 million, an increase of 39.2 percent over the same period last year. Net income rose $37.6 million, an increase of 23.9 percent.

Included in Copart's results for the three-month period ending Oct. 31 were the company's acquisitions in the United Kingdom. Copart purchased Universal Salvage, plc and Century Salvage Sales Limited. Copart's U.K. operations generated $43.8 million in revenue in the first quarter.

Copart sells damaged vehicles through Internet auctions to licensed dismantlers, rebuilders, used car dealers and exporters. The company operates 136 facilities in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. The company celebrated its 25th anniversary in August.

Reach Ines Bebea at 427-6934 or ibebea@dailyrepublic.net.