SHAPE Australia wins about $800m DigiCo SYD1 data centre contract
SHAPE Australia has lifted its backlog above $1.5 billion after DigiCo Infrastructure REIT awarded it an approximately $800m contract for the next phase of the SYD1 data centre project.
Construction and fitout contractor SHAPE Australia (ASX: SHA) says its contracted backlog now exceeds $1.5 billion, after DigiCo Infrastructure REIT (ASX: DGT) handed it a contract worth roughly $800m in October. The award took project wins past $1.4 billion as at 19 October.
The work is the next phase of the SYD1 data centre project, where SHAPE earlier delivered a 20-megawatt Stage 1 upgrade. Both sides ran an early contractor involvement process to scope, design and price the expansion, then agreed a fixed-cost deal. SHAPE expects the contract to bring in about $200m of extra revenue in each of FY27 and FY28, beyond what it had forecast before the award.
DigiCo confirmed that the customer contract has been executed and that grid capacity, water access and State Significant Development Approval are all in place. It said the project can be funded from existing liquidity, debt facilities and proceeds of a US asset sale.
In the September quarter SHAPE won $504.6 million of projects, compared with $336m a year earlier. Backlog at 30 September was $762.7m, up 21 per cent from $628.4m at the end of June.
SHAPE has assembled a delivery team of more than 50 people, and major subcontract pricing and terms have been agreed to match its head contract commitments. New South Wales general manager James Fitzgerald is responsible for delivery, with executive reviews covering progress, cost, cash flow and risk. Chief executive Peter Marix-Evans said the company had "established a dedicated team and clear executive oversight to manage delivery and commercial risk, while maintaining the resources supporting our core business".
Outside data centres, modular construction revenue was $20.6m in the first quarter, up from $14.5m a year earlier. Modular by SHAPE opened a Perth manufacturing facility and branch in October, its third nationally, and has won an education project after securing a place on a WA government modular building panel. SHAPE also reported more than $1.7 billion of known opportunities over the following 120 days, and a wider pipeline above $4.5 billion as at 19 October.