NEXTDC Eyes 50% Earnings Growth as AI Data Centre Demand Surges
Synopsis
Australia’s NEXTDC expects earnings to grow more than 50% in FY27 as AI demand drives new customer contracts, data centre expansion and higher revenue.
Australian data centre operator NEXTDC is set to see its FY27 earnings grow by more than 50% due to capacity being converted into sales.
The company's FY27 net revenue is set to be in the range of A$615 million to A$640 million against the A$405 million for FY26. Underlying EBITDA is projected to be A$385 million to A$410 million, compared to A$248.8 million of last year.
197MW Set for Billing
Following the dramatic surge in contracted capacity, the NEXTDC FY27 earnings outlook is weighed on. The contracted utilisation stood at 740.1MW as of June 30, representing a 202% increase from 244.8MW a year ago.
The company has indicated that its forward order book was 565.1MW and its billing utilisation was 175MW. NEXTDC expects 197MW of contracted capacity to start billing in FY27 and another 221MW for FY28.
The company's capital expenditure for the previous financial year (FY26) amounted to A$3.397 billion, double that of A$1.699 billion in FY25. Capital expenditure is set to be in the range A$5.25 billion to A$5.75 billion for FY27.
FY26 Profit Returns
The current year's earnings outlook for NEXTDC is consistent with a positive FY26 performance. Net revenue was up 16 per cent at A$405 million, with statutory profit after tax at A$82.1 million against a loss of A$60.5 million in FY25.
Capacity building was 38% higher at 287.9MW. NEXTDC also held 537MW of capacity that under development as at 30 June, with projects in various stages of development in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, Darwin, the Sunshine Coast and Kuala Lumpur.
New contracts are coming through as a result of the company's acquisition of AI, cloud and large technology customers, it said. It also noted that its capital plan for FY27 is primarily focused on capacity under customer contracts.
Data Centres Add to Power Demand
Australia's electricity market is set to take bigger data centre loads and the NEXTDC FY27 outlook reflects that. The latest Electricity Statement of Opportunities (2026) from AEMO predicts that National Electricity Market data centre electricity demand will grow from approximately 5 TWh in 2025-26 to 34 TWh by 2035-36.
It would increase the portion of electricity supplied to data centres from 3% to around 13% of the grid, respectively. Factors such as project attrition, confirmed electricity demand and the progressive activation of new generation facilities have been taken into its revised forecast, AEMO said.
The numbers highlight a massive amount of infrastructure investment being planned for data processing and electricity demands of cloud and AI services for Australian and US businesses. NEXTDC has tied up its FY27 revenue guidance to its existing contractual capacity and not on new contracts.
Source: Mingtiandi
Pooja Malik is a business journalist with over six years of experience covering startups, entrepreneurship, and emerging trends. She has previously worked with leading media platforms such as YourStory Media and BW BusinessWorld, where she reported on business, policy, and market developments. Currently, she serves as Editor at The Inspirepreneur Magazine, where she writes and edits stories across business, lifestyle, and travel, with a focus on clarity, accuracy, and reader relevance.
