NextDC to Build Australia’s Largest Data Centres

Data centre operator NextDC has confirmed that it is the buyer of a 1.2-hectare Sydney north shore site, announcing plans to spend more than $2 billion on three new sites in Melbourne, Sydney and Perth in its 2018 financial results.

The $90 million north shore site acquisition is part of major development plans for NextDC and its new sites in Melbourne and Sydney will be the largest ever built in Australia.

The Urban Developer reported last week on NextDC’s development plans for the Perth site, with the company submitting a proposal for a 9-storey, $195 million data centre in Lord Street, Perth. The Perth data centre will operate 20 megawatts of power.

The sites in Sydney and Melbourne will consume 80 megawatts, making the centres the largest ever built in the country. The acquisitions totalled about $170 million, with the company raising $377.4 million in additional equity funding.

Over the past fiscal year, NextDC expanded its target network footprint from 126 megawatts to more than 300 megawatts.

Over the full year, NextDC reported revenue growth of 31 per cent to $161.5 million, with data centre services revenue for the year increasing from $117.6 million to $152.6 million.

Related: NextDC Rejects $265m Data Centre Portfolio

The investment in the new centres in Port Melbourne, inner Sydney and Perth brings its total to 11, with seven currently running.

Chief executive Craig Scroggie welcomed the financial year results and said the company was in “advanced negotiations” with potential customers.

“We continue to experience strong demand for NextDC’s premium data centre services, with the company experiencing not only strong growth in contracted utilisation, but also adding a record number of more than 2,300 interconnections during FY18,” Scroggie said.

For 2019, NextDC is forecasting revenue growth of between 20 per cent and 24 per cent with revenue of $194 million to $200 million.