This is the wrong day to release any good news as investors are steadfastly focused on the fallout from Greece's potential bankruptcy.
You will be hard pressed to find any stock outside the gold sector that's trading in positive territory (gold is seen as a safe haven against a Greek contagion) as Nextdc Ltd (ASX:NXT) is finding out the hard way even as it announces a material new contract win.
The stock tumbled 2.5% to $2.30 in early trade but has managed to claw back the losses as investors recognised the significance of the news at this critical juncture for the data centre operator.
Nextdc is expected to post a maiden net profit this financial year and the new client will go a long way in bolstering confidence in management's ability to deliver on this milestone as utilisation rates at its Sydney and Melbourne data centres will rise by 28% as a result of the new deal.
This represents a total utilisation of around 44% as the new client, which cannot be named due to a confidentiality agreement, is contracted to use 4 megawatt (MW) of capacity a year over five years.
Data centre capacity is measured in MWs as these facilities are energy intensive and Nextdc has a total capacity of 42MW.
Companies like Nexdc make appealing investments as they are leveraged to the growth in cloud computing while their business model provides a level of earnings stability that is similar to a utility company.
Posting a maiden profit this year and convincing investors of its earnings growth momentum will see the stock re-rate further in my view.
But this assumes you can buy the stock at the right price and you shouldn't expect a dividend for a few years yet as Nexdc needs the cash to grow.
For these reasons I would be reluctant to buy the stock above $2 as I see other better priced alternatives on the market that are leveraged to a similar thematic, such as Vocus Communications Limited (ASX: VOC), which has successfully acquired Amcom Telecommunications Limited (ASX: AMM).
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