Macquarie Technology Group is looking to expand its data center portfolio on the back of soaring demand for cloud and AI services.
The Australian company said it was looking for new sites as it released its half-year results for the six months to the end of December.
The news comes as two other Australia data center providers, NextDC and DXN, also revealed their earnings for the second half of 2023.
Macquarie looks for new data center sites
Macquarie’s half-yearly results showed revenue up 5.1 percent year-on-year to AU$181.3 million (US$117.3m).
Data center revenue growth outperformed the rest of the business, with a year-on-year uptick of 8.4 percent, to AU$34.3 million (US$22.2m).
In its results announcement, the company said it continues “to explore the acquisition of sites to facilitate the growth plan of Macquarie data centers, supporting the sovereign focus of our customer base.”
It currently owns and operates two campuses in Sydney, one in the city’s central business district, and the other known as the Macquarie Park Data Center Campus. The latter is home to Macquarie’s latest development, its IC3 Super West data center. Last summer it revealed it was increasing IT capacity at the site to up to 45MW, from a planned 38MW, to cater for demand for AI infrastructure. The company had previously raised AU$130 million (US$88m) to fund the scheme.
Chief executive David Tudehope said he was “pleased” with the progress at IC3. “With anticipated demand from the AI megatrend, we could increase the IT load of IC3 Super West from 38MW to 45MW,” he said. “This would take the campus from 56MW to 63MW, subject to regulatory and board approval. Access to 63MW of power is available upon opening of IC3 Super West.”
The company has not shared a timeline for opening the data center. It also operates two bunker data center facilities in Canberra.
NextDC losses soar as it invests in infrastructure
Elsewhere, another Australian data center operator, NextDC, saw losses skyrocket in the last six months, with the company having spent big on a series of infrastructure projects.
NextDC, which operates 11 data centers in Australia, recorded a loss of AU$22.5 million (US$14.6m) in the last six months, compared to just AU$2.8 million (US$2.2m) in the same period of 2022.
It told shareholders it had spent AU$220 million (US$142m) on capital projects in the period, including building out existing facilities in Sydney and Melbourne, and beginning work on a new data center in Darwin.
NextDC has plans to expand internationally into New Zealand and Indonesia. As part of the results announcement, it said its first New Zealand site, in Auckland, was currently “in planning”.
DXN restructuring efforts pay off
Meanwhile, modular data center provider DXN said its restructuring program is starting to pay off, as it reported falling losses in its half-yearly financials.
DXN’s net loss after tax improved by 62 percent from AU$2.2 million (US$1.43m) to AU$838,392 (US$544,000).
As reported by DCD in November, the company surrendered the lease on the Sydney data center it operated in Park View Drive to focus on modular deployments for customers. The lease had nine years to run.
"The re-negotiation and exit of the Sydney data center lease is a key outcome for the company and will save DXN approximately AU$1.4 million per year in lease charges of the remaining nine years of the lease,” said DXN CEO Shalini Lagrutta
"The restructuring program that DXN commenced in FY23 continues to see positive results, with the intent of DXN reaching operating cash flow breakeven and profitability during [2024].”
