NextDC Ltd (ASX: NXT) shares are pushing higher in morning trade on Thursday.
At the time of writing, the ASX 200 tech stock is up 5% to $14.71.
Image source: Getty Images
Why are NextDC shares rising?
The ASX 200 tech stock is gaining ground this morning after releasing its half-year results following the market close on Wednesday.
According to the release, the data centre operator reported record half-year revenue, with net revenue rising 13% to $189.2 million and total revenue increasing 13% to $231.8 million.
Underlying EBITDA climbed 9% to $115.3 million, while the company reduced its net loss after tax by 8% to $39.4 million.
A key highlight was the surge in contracted utilisation, which increased 137% over the past 12 months to 416.6MW. The company's forward order book now stands at 296.8MW, which management expects will progressively ramp into billing between FY 2026 and FY 2029, underpinning future revenue and earnings growth.
NextDC's CEO, Craig Scroggie, described the step change in activity as the culmination of years of positioning the company to capture extraordinary demand. He commented:
The step change in the scale of the Company's activities over the past six months represents the culmination of many years of work to position NEXTDC to capture the unprecedented demand and reflects our reputation for delivering on time and at scale. Our record forward order book is expected to drive a material uplift in revenues and earnings as we deliver this capacity across the period to FY29.
Expansion accelerating
NextDC revealed that it invested $1.285 billion in capital expenditure during the half, focused on developments including S3 Sydney, M3 Melbourne, and KL1 Kuala Lumpur, as well as other expansion activities.
Importantly, the company upgraded total planned capacity at key projects, including M3 Melbourne from 200MW to 225MW and S4 Sydney from 300MW to 350MW.
The company also added 33MW of built capacity during the half across NSW/ACT and Victoria.
With liquidity of $4.2 billion at 31 December and plans to launch a subordinated notes offering in the coming days, NextDC appears well funded to continue its expansion.
Outlook
NextDC has reaffirmed its guidance for FY 2026. It continues to expect net revenue of $390 million to $400 million and underlying EBITDA of $230 million to $240 million.
However, it upgraded capital expenditure guidance to a range of $2.4 billion to $2.7 billion, up from the previous $2.2 billion to $2.4 billion range, reflecting the acceleration of its planned inventory expansion.
Mr Scroggie adds:
NEXTDC remains on track to deliver another record financial performance in FY26 on the back of exceptional sales and strong financial performance in 1H26. With total liquidity of A$4.2 billion, record forward order book and record sales pipeline, the Company remains in an outstanding position to take advantage of further customer growth opportunities.
