NEXTDC's FY26 become largest contracting year in company history

NEXTDC has seen its net revenue grow $54.8 million (16%) to $405 million in FY26, with underlying EBITDA also increasing $32.1 million (15%) to $248.8 million.

The company said it saw a "record increase" in contracted utilisation of 495.3MW (202%) to 740.1MW on a pro forma basis, while the built capacity of 287.9MW at 30 June 2026 represents an increase of 80.0MW (38%) during FY26.

NEXTDC's Forward Order Book of 565.1MW at 30 June 2026 on a pro forma basis is more than 3.2 times billing utilisation.

The data center ⁠operator told the market that 80MW of additional built capacity was added during FY26 across NSW/ACT (16MW at S3 Sydney), Victoria (12MW at M2 Melbourne and 42MW at M3 Melbourne) and internationally (10MW at KL1 Kuala Lumpur).

Capacity also continues to be progressed across Sydney, Melbourne, Geelong, Adelaide, Brisbane, Darwin, Perth and the Sunshine Coast, as well as Kuala Lumpur.

Elsewhere, the company said that the site for M5 Melbourne has been acquired, with planning works commencing for up to 1.2GW of IT capacity; excavation and retaining works have commenced at TK1 Tokyo; planning works continue for S5 Sydney and S7 Sydney, and the resource consent application for AK1 Auckland has been lodged with Auckland Council; and edge network builds and expansions are underway at GE1 Geelong, SC2 Sunshine Coast and D2 Darwin to accommodate cable landing stations and critical network infrastructure platforms.

NEXTDC CEO and MD Craig Scroggie said FY26 was the largest contracting year in NEXTDC’s history.

"Contracted utilisation tripled to 740.1MW on a pro forma basis, and we exceeded guidance on both net revenue and Underlying EBITDA," he said.

"Our Forward Order Book of 565MW is now more than 3.2 times our billing utilisation, and our focus is on delivering that capacity and converting it into revenue and cash inflow. Since August 2025 we have also raised A$9.75 billion of new capital, taking pro forma liquidity from A$5.5 billion to A$8.7 billion and providing significant capital to deliver the contracted capacity and grow our development pipeline.”

That new capital partly came by way of a $1 billion commitment from a Canadian investment group; an entitlement offer to ⁠raise $1.5 billion; and new senior debt facilities of $2.3 ‌billion.

NEXTDC's FY27 outlook projects net revenue in the range of $615 million to $640 million.

The company's Forward Order Book is also accelerating across FY27 to FY30, with 197MW of billing conversion in FY27 and a further 221MW in FY28 - meaning 74% of the Forward Order Book is converting within two years - and the remaining 147MW converting across FY29 and FY30 to deliver material uplift in revenue and earnings over this period and beyond.

Underlying EBITDA is expected to be in the range of A$385 million to A$410 million for FY27.

Accelerated expansion works for M2 Melbourne, M3 Melbourne, S4 Sydney and KL1 Kuala Lumpur are on schedule, while M4 Melbourne early works are in progress, with works for S5 Sydney expected to commence in FY27.

Strategic Metro and Edge developments also continue across Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, Darwin, Sunshine Coast and Geelong, supporting enterprise, government and critical national network infrastructure providers with colocation, network, inferencing, satellite and cable landing station capability 

Scroggie stated that FY27 will be a record growth year for NEXTDC.

"Net revenue and Underlying EBITDA are both guided to grow by more than 50 per cent: net revenue to A$615 to A$640 million and Underlying EBITDA to A$385 to A$410 million, driven by contracted capacity converting to billing," he explained.

"To deliver it, we are investing A$5,250 million to A$5,750 million, principally in capacity our customers have already contracted, with 197MW expected to convert to billing during FY27 and a further 221MW during FY28. This is the largest capital program in the Company’s history, and it is underpinned by a Forward Order Book of 565MW. Every megawatt in that Forward Order Book is a binding customer contract.

"Billing is contracted to more than quadruple to 740MW by FY30. Our focus in FY27 is execution: delivering M2 Melbourne, M3 Melbourne, S4 Sydney and KL1 Kuala Lumpur in line with customer commitments. Beyond the Forward Order Book, customer options, reservations and sales pipeline are at record levels.”