Jan 29 (Reuters) - Trane Technologies 2IS.F posted a rise in fourth-quarter profit and revenue on Thursday, as the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence-focused data centers lifted demand for its commercial air-conditioning systems.

Trane's acquisition of Stellar Energy's digital business and a 49% stake in Kieback & Peter Group during the quarter expanded its presence in the EMEA region and the data-center cooling business.

Trane's adjusted profit rose to $2.86 per share during the quarter ended December 31, from $2.61 a year ago.

The Ireland-based company's revenue rose to $5.15 billion, from $4.87 billion a year ago.

Analysts on average expected fourth-quarter revenue of $5.08 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG.

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang recently said that his company’s upcoming chips could significantly reduce cooling requirements in data centers. That could have implications for air-conditioning companies such as Trane Technologies, which derives roughly 10% of its sales from data center-related cooling systems.

(Reporting by Megavarshini G. Somasundaram in Bengaluru; Editing by Jonathan Ananda)

((Megavarshini.SomasundaramGnanasundari@thomsonreuters.com;))