It's been a rough year for S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) investors, as many of the market's favourite shares suffered amid a downturn.
As of this morning, the ASX 200 is 6.25% lower than it was at the start of 2022. But not all has been dire on the Aussie bourse.
If an investor were to have bought $10,000 of one ASX 200 share at the start of 2022, they would have quadrupled their money by now.
So, which stock has managed to post a return on investment above 300% this year? It was Whitehaven Coal Ltd (ASX: WHC).
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The ASX 200 share that returned more than 300% in 2022
The coal producer's stock has had a ripper run this year as the conflict in Ukraine drove the black rock's value through the roof. That pushed the company's bottom line sky high.
Whitehaven posted a near-1,400% jump in earnings for financial year 2022 and returned to profit, ending the fiscal year $1.9 billion in the green.
The company has also vowed to buy back 35% of its outstanding stock. It snapped up 10% of its shares between March and October before announcing its plan to buy back another 240 million over the following 12 months.
All that likely helped drive the Whitehaven share price upwards. It's gained 290.58% year to date to trade at $10.78 today.
However, looking back at its first close of 2022, the stock was swapping hands for just $2.76.
That means a $10,000 investment on 4 January would probably have seen one buy 3,623 shares in the ASX 200 coal giant. Today, that parcel would be worth $39,055.94.
Whitehaven also returned to dividend this year. It paid investors 8 cents per share in March and 40 cents per share in September.
Thus, our imagined investment would have also yielded $1,739.04 of passive income in 2022.
Our figurative investor could have realised even greater returns if they compounded their dividends by reinvesting them in the stock.
All up, a $10,000 investment in the ASX 200 share would have returned 308% amid 2022's downturn.
Perhaps Whitehaven's incredible year-to-date performance proves there will nearly always be wealth-building opportunities among ASX shares, no matter how dire the market may appear.
