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Highlights

  • NextDC’s contracted utilisation jumped 30% to a record 228MW in Q1 2025.

  • Major contract wins drive a 54% surge in forward order book to 127MW.

  • FY25 capex guidance raised by $100 million to support increased capacity.

Shares of NextDC Ltd (ASX: \NXT) surged as much as 4.1% on Tuesday to $13.18, following an operational update and record customer contract wins that have reignited investor interest in the data centre operator. This gain outpaced the broader S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO), which was up just 0.1% at the time.

The rally comes as the company announced a 30% increase in pro forma contracted utilisation, which reached 228 megawatts (MW) as of 31 March 2025, up from 176MW at the end of December. This increase marks the largest quarterly rise in contracted utilisation in the company’s history.

The update also revealed a 54% jump in its forward order book to 127MW, driven by new contract wins — another record milestone for the company. 

CEO Craig Scroggie commented on the development, stating, "We are very pleased to have recorded the largest increase in contracted utilisation in the company’s history. The rise of artificial intelligence and high-performance computing is reshaping the data centre industry at speed."

Leading the growth was Victoria, where NextDC’s data centre ecosystem recorded the largest AI deployments in its portfolio to date. Victorian contracted utilisation stood at 114MW as of 31 March — a whopping 161% of the region’s built capacity of 70.5MW at the end of 2024.

Despite the big wins, revenue from these contracts won’t immediately reflect in the company’s earnings. NextDC expects revenue recognition to begin in FY27, with a full revenue run rate anticipated by FY28, as the company completes and commissions additional data halls to support the new contracts.

To support this aggressive expansion, NextDC has raised its FY25 capital expenditure guidance by $100 million. Capex is now projected to range between $1.4 billion and $1.6 billion, up from $1.3 billion to $1.5 billion previously. This will fund the construction and deployment of new capacity across key sites.

NextDC reaffirmed its full-year FY25 net revenue and underlying earnings guidance. As of the end of December 2024, the company had $2.5 billion in cash and undrawn debt facilities, positioning it well to fund future growth.