Segment Information

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2012

Segment Information [Abstract]

Segment Information

Note 16: Segment Information

The Company conducts business through two operating segments: portfolio purchasing and recovery and tax lien transfer. The Company’s management relies on internal management reporting processes that provide segment revenue, segment operating income, and segment asset information in order to make financial decisions and allocate resources. The operating results from the Company’s tax lien transfer segment are immaterial to the Company’s total consolidated operating results. However, total assets from this segment are significant as compared to the Company’s total consolidated assets. As a result, in accordance with authoritative guidance on segment reporting, the Company’s tax lien transfer segment is determined to be a reportable segment.

Segment operating income includes income from operations before depreciation, amortization of intangible assets, and stock-based compensation expense. The following table provides a reconciliation of revenue and segment operating income by reportable segment to consolidated results and was derived from the segment’s internal financial information as used for corporate management purposes (in thousands):

	Three Months Ended September 30,				Nine Months Ended September 30,
	2012		2011		2012		2011
Revenues:
Portfolio purchasing and recovery	$	140,682	$	115,843	$	405,818	$	332,262
Tax lien transfer (1)		4,110		—		6,442		—
	$	144,792	$	115,843	$	412,260	$	332,262
Operating income:
Portfolio purchasing and recovery	$	42,554	$	34,120	$	122,465	$	96,231
Tax lien transfer (1)		2,055		—		2,874		—
		44,609		34,120		125,339		96,231
Depreciation and amortization		1,533		1,054		4,193		2,916
Stock-based compensation		1,905		2,405		6,710		5,980
Other expense		5,976		5,517		17,639		16,319
Income from continuing operations before income taxes	$	35,195	$	25,144	$	96,797	$	71,016

⁽¹⁾  Nine months ended September 30, 2012 data for the tax lien transfer segment only includes the period from May 8, 2012 (date of acquisition) through September 30, 2012.

Additionally, assets are allocated to operating segments for management review. As of September 30, 2012, total segment assets were $914.8 million and $194.3 million for the portfolio purchasing and recovery segment and tax lien transfer segment, respectively.