Equinix data-centre builder and operator profits halve

PRE-tax profits at the Irish arm of data-centre builder and operator Equinix more than halved last year to €7.8 million.

Equinix (Ireland) Ltd operates data centres in Dublin at Citywest, Kilcarbery Park in Clondalkin, Blanchardstown, and two in Northwest Business Park.

New accounts show that Equinix (Ireland) Ltd recorded the 51 per cent decrease in profits despite revenues rising by 33 per cent from €48.9m to €65.2m.

However, pre-tax profits decreased as cost of sales more than doubled from €22.7m to €46.82m.

According to accounts, the business continued to expand in Ireland this year, with a note stating that in April, the company entered a deal to acquire a building, DB2, located at Kilcarbery Business Park, for €7m with additional transaction costs amounting to €550,000.

Directors for the US- headquartered firm state that “demand for Equinix Ireland’s premium data centre capacity remained solid” and that the market continues to grow strong, driven by “increasing internet traffic, rises in requirements for power and cooling, the expansion of computing requirements of the financial services industry, the emergence of cloud computing and software as a service, despite the high capital costs associated with building and maintaining in sourced data centres.”

They said the company “is benefiting from a growth in demand for data centre and interconnection offerings and intends to continue to increase its capacity.”

Numbers employed by the Irish unit increased from 64 to 92

Staff costs increased from €10.11m to €11.98m. Pay to directors totalled €273,000.

On risks facing the company, the directors said it “is exposed to the risk that electricity providers may not be able to provide further capacity in locations where the company expects to expand.”