Shares in Infratil Ltd (ASX: IFT) are trading higher after the company upgraded its forecast earnings for its CDC data centre business for FY27.
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Upwards revision
In a statement to the ASX on Thursday, the company said that it had previously forecast that CDC's FY25 EBITDAF would double to about $660 million in FY27.
Infratil now estimates that this figure will increase to $680 million to $720 million "based on the updated outlook for delivery of existing contracted capacity and the expectation for continued strong demand''.
The company also said that FY26 EBITDAF was expected to come in at the lower end of the guidance range of $390 million to $400 million, "reflecting the timing of existing contracted capacity that has been weighted toward the back end of FY26''.
Infrastructure of the future
CDC Chief Executive Officer Greg Boorer said recent geopolitical developments have highlighted Australasia's secure position and competitive differentiation as a strategic location for data centres.
He added:
We attended the largest AI event in the United States last week, and one of the key takeaways is that large-scale intelligence generation will be critical to future economic prosperity. The good news is that Australasia is globally front of mind as a preferred secure option for large-scale intelligence generation. As a result, we're having even more conversations with our strategic customers about their increased capacity needs, and we're continuing to build new intelligence generation capacity as fast as we can to meet that increasing demand.
Infratil said CDC had the largest pipeline of data centre capacity in Australia, with 18 operational sites and another five under construction.
The company added:
An important contributor to CDC's ability to fast track development is the minimal water usage enabled by its closed-loop water cooling system. CDC added almost 200 megawatts of built operating capacity in the December quarter.
Infratil Chief Executive Officer Jason Boyes said data centre demand remained very strong.
He added:
Our focus is on supporting CDC to deliver more capacity to meet the growing demand for data centre space across Australasia. Infratil, along with CDC's other major shareholders, recently provided A$500 million in equity funding to support the acceleration of CDC's construction programme.
The Infratil earnings update coincided with an investor tour of CDC's Eastern Creek campus, where two additional data centres are nearing operational status.
Infratil shares were 5.2% higher in early trade at $9.72.
The company was valued at $9.23 billion at the close of trade on Wednesday.
