YTL Power International Bhd shares came under pressure in afternoon trading on Thursday, easing nearly 3% as investors booked profits following recent gains linked to optimism over its data centre expansion plans and potential valuation re-rating.
At the time of writing, the stock was last done at RM4.34, down 13 sen or 2.91%, after moving between RM4.32 and RM4.49 during the session. Trading volume was heavy at 69,320 lots, with selling pressure outweighing buying interest as the counter slipped from its intraday open of RM4.47.
Separately, RHB Investment Bank Bhd (RHB Research) maintained its BUY call on YTL Power with a raised target price of RM6.00, up from RM5.00, citing accelerating data centre expansion, stronger earnings contributions from Ranhill and PowerSeraya and potential upside from a possible listing of its data centre unit.
The research house estimated that a potential listing of the data centre business could unlock value of around RM28 billion based on a 20 times EV/EBITDA multiple, translating into about RM3.06 per share in theoretical value. It also highlighted YTL Power’s rapidly expanding Johor data centre footprint, with capacity targets now scaled up to as much as 1.2 gigawatts over time.
Despite the upbeat medium-term outlook, the stock saw short-term pressure as market participants locked in recent gains, with the counter still trading below its intraday high of RM4.49. Analysts continue to view the group’s data centre strategy as a key earnings driver, supported by rising demand for hyperscale capacity and associated power infrastructure needs.
