Anant Raj Limited: Is the Company Actually Earning Money from Its Data Centres?

Synopsis: Anant Raj’s data centre business is translating into earnings, with 28 megawatts operational and H1 FY26 revenue of Rs. 58.42 crore. EBITDA contribution is high, with margins above 27 percent. With capacity targeted at 63 megawatts by December 2026, data centres are emerging as a meaningful growth and cash flow driver.

Anant Raj has long been seen as a steady North India real estate developer, quietly compounding value through land, rentals and disciplined balance sheet management.

But beneath the familiar bricks-and-mortar story, a very different business is taking shape, one built around servers, power density and digital demand rather than apartments and offices. As data centres become one of India’s most sought-after infrastructure assets, the key question investors are now asking is simple: is Anant Raj actually earning meaningful money from its data centre bet?

About the Company

Anant Raj Limited is traditionally known as a real estate-led business with deep roots in North India, particularly across Delhi, Haryana, NCR, Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan. Over several decades, the company has built a diversified portfolio spanning residential housing, commercial real estate, hospitality assets, industrial parks and IT parks. This diversification has allowed Anant Raj to smoothen cyclical swings in real estate and steadily strengthen its balance sheet over time.

What sets Anant Raj apart from many legacy real estate developers is its conscious move towards building annuity-style businesses. Rental assets, commercial leasing and now digital infrastructure have become central to its long-term strategy. The company’s foray into data centres is not a side experiment but a structured, capital-intensive expansion aligned with India’s growing digital economy.

To house this vertical, Anant Raj operates its data centre and cloud business through its wholly owned subsidiary, Anant Raj Cloud Private Limited. Under this platform, the company is positioning itself as an integrated digital infrastructure provider rather than just a landlord leasing out server space. The strategy combines physical data centre assets with cloud services, managed solutions and sovereign cloud offerings, creating a broader revenue opportunity than pure colocation players.

Importantly, Anant Raj has approached this transition with financial discipline. Unlike many peers who have relied heavily on leverage to build data centre capacity, Anant Raj has largely funded construction using surplus cash flows from its residential business while simultaneously reducing overall debt. This conservative capital allocation has played a key role in maintaining healthy debt service coverage ratios and limiting balance sheet risk as the business scales.

Anant Raj’s Current Data Centre Capacity and Offerings

Operational capacity and locations

As of today, Anant Raj has 28 megawatts of IT load capacity operational across multiple locations. These facilities are strategically located in Manesar, Panchkula and Rai, giving the company access to NCR demand while also allowing room for long-term expansion.

At Manesar, the data centre has a total planned capacity of 50 megawatts of IT load. Of this, 6 megawatts has already been operationalised, including 0.5 megawatts dedicated to cloud-owned data services. An additional 15 megawatts has also been operationalised, and the company plans to add another 29 megawatts incrementally over the coming years depending on leasing traction and tenant requirements.

The Panchkula facility has a planned IT load capacity of 57 megawatts. Currently, 7 megawatts is operational, with integration of cloud services in association with the cloud business already at an advanced stage. The site also offers significant headroom for future growth, with 5.25 acres of greenfield land available and an FSI translating into around 0.6 million square feet of potential development, supporting an envisaged 50 megawatts of IT load capacity.

Rai represents the company’s largest long-term opportunity. The existing building is ready to support 100 megawatts of IT load, with design and work already commenced for 20 megawatts. In addition, Anant Raj has the option to develop another 100 megawatts through a greenfield project, taking the total potential IT load capacity at Rai to 200 megawatts over time.

Technology partners

Anant Raj has consciously partnered with global technology vendors to ensure its data centre infrastructure meets international standards. Rack systems and UPS solutions are supplied by Schneider Electric, while IT design is supported by companies such as CommScope and Cisco. HVAC and precision air handling units are sourced from Mitsubishi Electric and Climaveneta, ensuring energy efficiency and temperature control.

The facilities use Unitile floor tiles, Johnson Controls gas suppression systems and Tricolite on-floor electrical panels. This choice of vendors reflects a focus on reliability, uptime and scalability, which are critical for attracting hyperscalers, cloud providers and enterprise clients looking for long-term data centre partners.

From colocation to cloud

Anant Raj entered the data centre space in 2019 with colocation services, which continue to form the backbone of its current revenue base. Over time, the company has expanded its service offering to include Platform as a Service and Software as a Service through a partnership with Orange Business. This partnership allows Anant Raj to go beyond renting racks and power, and instead participate in higher-value digital services.

The company now offers a combination of colocation services, cloud services including PaaS and SaaS, and is preparing to launch Infrastructure as a Service in association with Orange Business. It is also developing artificial intelligence-enabled solutions, signalling a move up the digital value chain.

Around 25 percent of the planned 307 megawatts of IT load capacity is expected to be utilised for cloud services over time. This blend of colocation and cloud provides revenue stability through long-term leases while also offering upside from higher-margin cloud offerings.

Ashok Cloud, positioned as a sovereign cloud solution, plays a critical role in this strategy. It offers compute, storage, networking, security, containerised services, migration support, OS management, consulting, monitoring and post-migration assistance. With India’s data localisation and protection framework evolving, sovereign cloud demand is emerging as a niche but rapidly growing segment.

Are They Earning From Data Centres?

Revenue contribution and growth trend

The most important question for investors is whether Anant Raj’s data centres are generating real, visible cash flows. The answer, based on reported numbers, is increasingly yes.

In Q2 FY26, revenue from operations stood at Rs. 630.79 crore, representing a year-on-year growth of 23 percent. Within this, revenue from data centre infrastructure and allied services was Rs. 35.47 crore. EBITDA for the quarter came in at Rs. 177.94 crore, up 43.85 percent year-on-year, with EBITDA margins expanding to 27.76 percent. Profit after tax grew 30.79 percent year-on-year to Rs. 138.18 crore, with PAT margins improving to 21.56 percent.

For H1 FY26, revenue from operations rose 24.22 percent year-on-year to Rs. 1,223.2 crore. Data centre revenues during this period stood at Rs. 58.42 crore, indicating that the segment is now being reported meaningfully and is no longer immaterial. EBITDA for the half year increased 43.17 percent year-on-year to Rs. 338.58 crore, with margins expanding to 27.23 percent. PAT grew 34.28 percent year-on-year to Rs. 264.08 crore, and PAT margins improved to 21.24 percent.

Management has highlighted that data centre revenues are fully on track relative to internal targets. With reported revenues now visible, the contribution is expected to accelerate as rent-free periods end and leasing stabilises.

Profitability and capital efficiency

Beyond revenue, profitability metrics indicate strong operating leverage. Management has indicated that absolute EBITDA contribution from the data centre business for H1 stands at around 75 percent, while PAT contribution is approximately 43.23 percent. This suggests that data centres are emerging as a high-margin vertical within the overall portfolio.

Capital employed in the data centre business has reached around Rs. 700 crore, following an addition of Rs. 187 crore in the latest half year. Despite this significant capital base, the business has been funded without taking incremental debt specifically for data centres. Construction has largely been financed through surplus residential cash flows while reducing overall leverage.

According to CRISIL, rentals from data centres were lower in fiscal 2025 due to delays in leasing and rent-free periods of three to four months provided to tenants during handover and integration. However, full-year rentals are expected from fiscal 2026 onwards for the existing 6 megawatts of capacity, providing a clearer earnings trajectory.

With the fully leased 6 megawatts and an additional 22 megawatts operationalised, rentals from the data centre business are expected to exceed Rs. 50 crore in fiscal 2026 and cross Rs. 100 crore in the medium term. As scale improves, the business risk profile is also expected to strengthen.

Future Outlook for Anant Raj’s Data Centre Segment

Capacity expansion roadmap

Anant Raj’s medium-term plan is to scale data centre capacity to 63 megawatts by December 2026. Of the current 28 megawatts, capacity will steadily ramp up based on leasing visibility rather than speculative construction.

Within the 63 megawatts, around 49 megawatts will be dedicated to pure colocation services, while 6 megawatts will be allocated to cloud services initially. Around 8 megawatts will be kept vacant to allow flexibility for future scaling. As demand strengthens, this vacant capacity can be utilised to increase cloud capacity to 14 megawatts.

Looking further ahead to FY28, total capacity is expected to rise to 117 megawatts. Of this, 87 megawatts will be colocation and 36 megawatts will be cloud. Within the cloud segment, 14 megawatts will be operational, while 16 megawatts will be reserved for future expansion based on demand.

Demand visibility and policy tailwinds

Management commentary suggests that demand is not a constraint. The primary bottleneck earlier was funding, which has now been addressed following the QIP. The company highlights strong demand from e-commerce players, enterprises and sovereign cloud users.

Ashok Cloud’s positioning as a sovereign cloud is particularly relevant as India moves closer to implementing stricter data protection and localisation laws. Similar frameworks already exist in most major economies, and their introduction in India is expected to multiply demand for domestically hosted, compliant data infrastructure.

The company also believes it is cost competitive, offering services at nearly 50 percent lower cost compared to broader market pricing while still maintaining healthy margins. This pricing advantage, combined with integrated service offerings, strengthens customer stickiness.

Financial discipline and risk management

Crucially, Anant Raj intends to continue scaling data centre capacity gradually, aligned with rentals and occupancy levels. Expansion is expected to be funded through residential cash flows, rental income and selective equity infusion rather than aggressive debt.

As cash flows from operational data centres improve from next year, management expects stronger internal accruals, allowing further cloud expansion without stressing the balance sheet. This measured approach reduces execution risk and preserves financial flexibility.

Anant Raj is no longer merely building data centres as future optionality. The segment is already contributing visible revenues, strong margins and improving cash flows. With 28 megawatts operational, a clear roadmap to 63 megawatts by December 2026, and long-term potential extending beyond 100 megawatts, the data centre business is emerging as a meaningful growth engine.

Supported by disciplined capital allocation, credible technology partnerships and growing demand for sovereign and enterprise cloud services, Anant Raj appears well positioned to monetise its data centre assets steadily. While the residential business continues to fund growth, data centres are increasingly becoming a core earnings pillar rather than a peripheral experiment.

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