Wartsila CEO sees long-term data centre boom

HELSINKI, April 28 (Reuters) - Finnish engineering group Wartsila's WRT1V.HE CEO said he expects long-term growth in demand for power generation from data centres, as the company reported first-quarter new orders and comparable earnings above analysts' estimates on Tuesday.

Wartsila, which manufactures power plants and ship engines, cited growing interest from the data centre segment for its off-grid power generating capacity and improving demand for its energy business over the next 12 months.

"My personal view is that it (power generation for data centers) will continue to grow and it will continue to grow long-term, not only short-term," Hakan Agnevall told Reuters, adding that investments in corporate AI were behind the trend.

LIMITED IMPACT FROM IRAN WAR

Agnevall said the Middle East crisis had so far had only limited impact on Wartsila's business.

He said some 3,000 ships - around 3% of the global merchant fleet of large vessels - were directly affected by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Many were oil tankers, however, which are not core clients for Wartsila's marine engines, he added.

Shares in the company fell nearly 6% in morning trade. They hit a record high of 39.4 euros last week when the group announced an order to supply an off-grid energy solution for a 790-megawatt data centre facility under construction in Texas.

New orders rose 10% year-on-year to 2.01 billion euros ($2.35 billion) in the January-to-March quarter, modestly beating market expectations and contributing "to an all-time high order book," Wartsila said in a statement.

Comparable earnings climbed 16% to 199 million euros, exceeding an average forecast of 193.7 million euros from a company-provided poll of 15 analysts, while revenue remained stable at 1.56 billion euros.

($1 = 0.8541 euros)