Energy company Drax has said it expects earnings to be at the “top end” of market forecasts after a “strong” performance this year, as it announces plans to develop a data centre at its Yorkshire site.
The FTSE 250 firm said trading was boosted by the performance of its flexible generation, pellet production and biomass operations.
It told shareholders that full-year adjusted earnings will be “around the top end of consensus estimates” for 2025 after a positive second half of the year.
Drax Group chief executive Will Gardiner said: “Aligned to the UK’s future energy needs and underpinned by a strong balance sheet, good cash generation, and a disciplined approach to capital allocation, we are working to maximise the value of our existing portfolio, while driving growth over the short, medium and long-term.
“Our year-to-date operational and financial performance has been strong, and we are focused on delivering around £3 billion of free cash flow between 2025 and 2031, which can support investment in energy security, data centres and flexible, renewable energy underpinning long-term value creation and returns to shareholders.”
The company said it currently has £2.3 billion contracted power sales between now and the first quarter of 2027 across its renewables obligation biomass, pumped storage and hydro generation assets.
On Thursday, Drax also announced plans to repurpose existing infrastructure at its Yorkshire power station in order to develop a data centre.
It said the 100MW data centre could be running as soon as 2027.
Drax said it expects to allocate up to £2 billion to incremental investment, primarily in flexible and renewable energy.
Earlier this year, Drax confirmed it is under investigation by the UK’s financial watchdog over the firm’s sourcing of wood for biomass pellets in the wake of whistleblower claims.
