The South32 Ltd (ASX: S32) share price had a turbulent time in FY22. With the end of financial year behind us, the company now trades back in line with its September 2018 levels.
At the time of writing, South32 is rangebound and trades at $3.87 per share, down more than 3% this year to date.
In broad market moves, the S&P/ASX 300 Metals and Mining Index (ASX: XMM) has gained 81 basis points on the day.
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South32 share price faced choppy times in FY22
Shares in the diversified miner were propped up by the commodity boom in FY22. Prices for coal and aluminium in particular were very buoyant and remain so into the new financial year.
The former has remained top-heavy, whereas the price for aluminium has retraced back to its 52-week lows of US$2,464 per tonne. Returns for all 3 since March are seen below.
However, just about all of the commodity markets South32 has exposure to rallied hard in FY22.
The benefits of higher pricing were on full display in the company's March quarter results, with the production and revenue numbers coming in strong.
In the same vein, however, full-year production costs were also forecasted to increase – a point that investors didn't appear too pleased with at the time.
As a result of the ups and downs of FY22, the South32 share price has managed to secure a roughly 31% gain over the past 12 months to date.
It rallied as high as $5.36 on 7 March 2022 and then reached $5.17 on 8 June, but has since pared gains to its current levels.
Looking ahead, South32 now has its full-year results to be released in the coming months, along with its annual report.
Meantime, 19 analysts rate the share as a buy right now, with 2 analysts saying it's a hold, per Bloomberg data.
