Anant Raj is developing two businesses at the same time. One is its core real estate operation. The other is a fast-growing Data Center & Cloud business.
Today, real estate remains the main source of earnings and cash generation. But management believes digital infrastructure could become a bigger value creator over time because of its recurring revenue model and rising demand from cloud computing and AI applications.
Realty business remains the near-term growth driver
The company’s real estate operations are expected to contribute most of its revenues and profits over the next few years.
A key strength is its nearly 320-acre debt-free land bank in Delhi-NCR. Much of this land was acquired years ago. That gives Anant Raj a cost advantage over developers buying land at current prices.
The land bank supports projects across several categories, including:
- Residential developments.
- Commercial properties.
- Hospitality projects.
- Retail developments.
- Mixed-use projects.
Management has also lined up new launches in Gurugram.
Among the biggest projects are Group Housing-2 and Group Housing-3.
- Group Housing-2 has an estimated revenue potential of about ₹2,180 crore.
- Group Housing-3 is expected to generate around ₹2,886 crore.
- Combined, the two projects represent more than ₹5,000 crore in potential sales.
Demand for premium and luxury housing has remained strong in Gurugram. Limited supply and rising affluence have supported pricing in the segment. Buyers are also showing greater preference for larger homes and integrated developments.
Another advantage comes from cash generation. Bookings, customer advances, collections and project monetisation provide upfront funds. Those cash flows can support future developments and also help finance the expansion of the digital business.
As a result, real estate is expected to remain the company’s primary earnings engine in the medium term.
Data center expansion plans are far larger
Management’s longer-term plans are increasingly focused on Data Center & Cloud operations.
Anant Raj currently operates about 28 MW of data center capacity. It aims to expand that figure to 357 MW by FY32.
That implies:
- An addition of nearly 329 MW.
- Capacity growth of more than 1,100% from current levels.
The planned facilities are located in:
- Manesar.
- Panchkula.
- Rai.
- Andhra Pradesh.
The business model is different from real estate. Data centers generate recurring revenue. Customers usually sign long-term contracts for services such as:
- Colocation.
- Managed services.
- Cloud infrastructure.
- Data storage.
That provides better revenue visibility and more predictable cash flows.
Ashok Cloud adds another layer
Anant Raj is also building a broader digital platform through Ashok Cloud.
Besides leasing data center space, the platform offers:
- Cloud computing services.
- Storage solutions.
- Managed services.
- Enterprise offerings.
This allows the company to earn revenue from multiple parts of the digital ecosystem instead of relying only on colocation.
AI and cloud demand support the outlook
Several industry trends are helping the sector.
Growing demand for:
- Artificial intelligence workloads.
- Cloud computing.
- Enterprise digitisation.
- Machine learning applications.
- Data localisation requirements.
could increase spending on data centers.
To strengthen its position, Anant Raj has secured several initiatives.
These include:
- Empanelment with MeitY as a Sovereign Cloud Service Provider.
- Empanelment with BSNL as a Data Centre Service Provider.
- A partnership with Spain-based AI infrastructure specialist Submer.
- Development of AI-ready liquid-cooled data centers.
- A memorandum of understanding with the Andhra Pradesh government for a 50 MW facility.
These arrangements could help the company serve government agencies, telecom operators, enterprises and AI-focused customers.
Why valuations could differ
Globally, data center companies often trade at higher valuation multiples than traditional real estate developers.
Investors generally assign premium valuations to businesses with:
- Recurring revenue.
- Long-term contracts.
- High revenue visibility.
- Exposure to structural technology trends.
Because of those characteristics, data center operators are frequently valued more like infrastructure or technology businesses than property developers.
If Anant Raj executes its expansion plans and scales capacity to 357 MW, the Data Center & Cloud segment could eventually account for a larger share of enterprise value. That could happen even if real estate continues to generate higher revenues in the near term.
Outlook
Anant Raj’s real estate operations are expected to remain the main driver of revenues and cash flows over the next few years.
At the same time, the Data Center & Cloud business is expanding rapidly. Management sees it as a long-term growth engine, supported by rising demand for digital services and a recurring revenue model.
TL;DR:
Real estate is expected to remain Anant Raj’s biggest earnings driver in the medium term. However, management believes the Data Center & Cloud business, supported by AI and cloud demand, could create greater long-term value as capacity expands from 28 MW to 357 MW.
AI summary:
- Realty is expected to drive near-term earnings and cash flows.
- Anant Raj owns nearly 320 acres of debt-free land in Delhi-NCR.
- Group Housing-2 and Group Housing-3 have revenue potential exceeding ₹5,000 crore.
- Data center capacity is planned to increase from 28 MW to 357 MW by FY32.
- Management sees recurring revenue from Data Center & Cloud operations as a long-term value driver.
