Infratil Upgrades CDC Earnings Guidance to $680M-$720M on Data Centre Demand
Infratil upgrades CDC earnings guidance as data centre demand accelerates
Infratil has announced upgraded earnings guidance for its CDC data centre business, reflecting stronger-than-expected demand across Australasia. The company now expects FY27 EBITDAF of A$680 million to A$720 million, up from the prior expectation of approximately A$660 million. The upgrade follows a A$500 million equity injection from major shareholders to accelerate CDC’s construction programme and comes as two additional data centres at the Eastern Creek campus near operational status.
Infratil CEO Jason Boyes stated the demand environment remains robust.
Jason Boyes, Infratil CEO
“Data centre demand thematics remain very strong. Our focus is on supporting CDC to deliver more capacity to meet the growing demand for data centre space across Australasia.”
The revised guidance reflects the updated outlook for delivery of existing contracted capacity and management’s expectation for continued strong demand. FY25 EBITDAF is expected to double into FY27, indicating a significant growth trajectory for the platform.
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What is EBITDAF and why does it matter for infrastructure investors?
EBITDAF stands for Earnings Before Interest, Tax, Depreciation, Amortisation and Fair value movements. Infrastructure companies use this metric to isolate operational performance from financing structures and accounting treatments common in capital-intensive businesses.
For data centre operators like CDC, EBITDAF strips out the impact of large depreciation charges on building and equipment assets, as well as fair value adjustments that can distort period-to-period comparisons. This provides a clearer view of cash generation capacity and underlying business momentum.
Guidance upgrades on this metric signal that operational performance is exceeding internal projections, independent of how assets are financed or valued on the balance sheet. For Infratil shareholders, the FY27 EBITDAF upgrade indicates CDC is tracking ahead of plan on both capacity delivery and customer demand capture.
CDC positions as Australasia’s largest data centre platform
CDC operates the largest data centre pipeline in Australasia, with 18 operational sites and 5 under construction across key metropolitan markets. The platform has a total capacity pipeline exceeding 2.7GW, positioning CDC to capture accelerating demand from hyperscale cloud providers, AI infrastructure deployments, and government requirements.
The company added almost 200 megawatts of built operating capacity in the December quarter and secured approximately 140MW of contract wins over the past six months. This demonstrates both delivery execution and continued demand traction.
CDC CEO Greg Boorer highlighted Australasia’s strategic positioning as a secure location for large-scale infrastructure.
Greg Boorer, CDC CEO
“Australasia is globally front of mind as a preferred secure option for large-scale intelligence generation. 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.”
| Region | Operational Sites | Key Campuses |
|---|---|---|
| Sydney | Multiple | Marsden Park, Eastern Creek |
| Canberra | Multiple | Hume, Fyshwick, Beard |
| Melbourne | Multiple | Brooklyn, Laverton |
| Perth | Under construction | Maddington |
| Auckland | Multiple | Silverdale, Hobsonville |
The geographic diversification across metropolitan centres provides CDC with optionality to serve customers requiring multi-region deployments whilst reducing concentration risk.
AI infrastructure demand driving growth trajectory
CDC plays a foundational role in the AI infrastructure stack, providing the physical data centre layer beneath chips, models, and applications. As AI workloads scale, they require significant compute infrastructure and power capacity that traditional enterprise IT environments cannot support.
Global IT load demand for data centres is forecast to grow from 103GW in 2024 to 250GW+ by 2030, according to NVIDIA data cited in CDC’s presentation. Hyperscaler capital expenditure continues to scale as cloud providers and AI companies expand infrastructure footprints to support training and inference workloads.
CDC has achieved NVIDIA DGX-Ready Data Center certification across its Australian and New Zealand facilities, demonstrating technical capability to deploy advanced AI hardware including liquid-cooled systems. This certification validates CDC’s infrastructure can support the high-density, high-power requirements of AI training clusters.
The company’s closed-loop cooling system enables rapid deployment of 100% liquid-cooled hardware across all facilities, providing a technical advantage as rack densities increase to support next-generation AI processors.
Near-term outlook and funding position
FY26 EBITDAF is expected at the lower end of the A$390 million to A$400 million guidance range, reflecting timing of existing contracted capacity weighted toward the back end of the financial year. This represents a sequencing issue rather than a demand concern, with the earnings trajectory expected to accelerate into FY27 and beyond.
CDC has secured funding to support its FY27 capital expenditure programmes through two primary sources:
- A$500 million equity raised from major shareholders (February 2026)
- Bank debt facility upsized to A$2.1 billion (expected close March 2026)
- Funding plan confirmed for FY27 capex programs
The equity raise was supported by all major shareholders, signalling confidence in the capital deployment opportunity and CDC’s ability to deliver returns on invested capital. The bank debt upsizing provides additional capacity to fund construction pipelines across multiple regions.
Greg Boorer, CDC CEO
“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.”
Competitive advantages supporting delivery
CDC’s closed-loop cooling system delivers a Water Usage Effectiveness (WUE) of 0.01, enabling minimal water consumption for primary cooling purposes. This differentiates CDC from competitors who face water availability constraints and regulatory scrutiny, particularly as Australian governments implement new data centre rules prioritising sustainable water usage.
The company matched 95.8% renewable electricity in FY25 and has offered 100% renewable electricity to customers by default since 1 January 2024. These sustainability credentials align with customer requirements and government expectations for data centre operators.
CDC’s established talent hubs and supply chains across multiple regions provide execution advantages. The CDC Academy programme enables continuous upskilling and workforce development, supporting rapid expansion across the platform. Trusted supplier relationships built through repeat delivery enhance reliability and reduce time-to-market for new developments.
The combination of water efficiency, renewable energy matching, and established regional platforms positions CDC to navigate regulatory requirements whilst maintaining development velocity.
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What lies ahead for Infratil’s data centre investment
CDC’s strategic priorities centre on three core themes: agility at scale, customers at scale, and capital at scale. The platform is focused on maintaining development velocity, expanding customer touchpoints, and ensuring adequate capitalisation to fund pipeline expansion.
The earnings trajectory extends into FY28 and beyond, supported by contracted capacity, a robust development pipeline, and structural demand tailwinds from AI infrastructure requirements. Australasia’s positioning as a secure, stable jurisdiction for large-scale intelligence generation provides a competitive advantage in attracting hyperscale deployments.
For Infratil shareholders, the upgraded CDC guidance demonstrates the data centre platform is tracking ahead of internal expectations. The A$680 million to A$720 million FY27 EBITDAF target represents meaningful growth from current run-rate earnings, with the trajectory supported by secured funding and customer demand visibility.
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