The best five ASX 200 energy shares of FY24 included three uranium stocks, a thermal and metallurgical coal stock and an oil stock.
Let's check them out.
Top 5 ASX 200 energy shares of FY24
These are the five best-performing ASX 200 energy shares for capital growth in FY24, according to data from S & P Global Market Intelligence.
Deep Yellow Limited (ASX: DYL)
Deep Yellow was the best-performing energy share on the ASX 200 last financial year. The Deep Yellow share price soared by 77.5% in FY24.
Rising global demand for uranium lifted the commodity price again in FY24.
This provided a strong tailwind for Deep Yellow and other ASX uranium shares. That's why the three top-performing ASX 200 energy shares for FY24 are all uranium stocks.
The United States and 20 other countries intend to triple their nuclear power by 2050. This is creating strong demand for uranium across the globe.
Paladin Energy Ltd (ASX: PDN)
Paladin Energy was the second top-performing ASX 200 uranium stock in terms of share price growth. Its share price rose 71% in FY24.
In the last week of FY24, the company announced plans to acquire 100% of Canadian uranium miner Fission Uranium Corp. (TSX: FCU) for 0.1076 shares for each Fission share.
Boss Energy Ltd (ASX: BOE)
The third best-performing ASX 200 energy share of FY24 was Boss Energy, up 33.2% over the 12 months.
Boss finished FY24 on a high after announcing the commencement of production at its joint venture mine, Alta Mesa, located in Texas, United States, in June. The news came eight weeks after Boss announced the start of production at its 100%-owned Honeymoon project in South Australia.
Whitehaven Coal Ltd (ASX: WHC)
Whitehaven was the top-performing ASX 200 coal stock in FY24 and the fourth-best among ASX 200 energy shares. But its share price gain wasn't anything spectacular. Whitehaven shares lifted 14% in FY24.
ASX coal stocks are generally off the boil as commodity prices cool down. Newcastle futures reached a peak of about US$440 per tonne in September 2022 (in the first half of FY23). Today, they're trading closer to US$140 per tonne. Newcastle coal futures fell by about 9% in FY24.
A tailwind for Whitehaven shares in FY24 was the company's US$3.2 billion acquisition of the Daunia and Blackwater metallurgical coal mines from BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP). This gave the company a more even split between its thermal and met coal assets, thereby enhancing its production and sales profile.
Beach Energy Ltd (ASX: BPT)
Beach Energy outperformed much larger rivals like Woodside Energy Group Ltd (ASX: WDS) in terms of share price gains in FY24. It was the top ASX 200 oil stock for the year and also the fifth-best-performing ASX 200 energy share with a modest 10.4% share price gain.
Oil stocks were volatile in FY24, and commodity prices fluctuated. The price of Brent Crude, the international oil commodity benchmark, rose by about 14% over the year.
Conflict in the Middle East may create issues with oil supply in the future, especially if Iran gets involved. OPEC+ production cuts and US stockpiles influenced the Brent Crude oil price last year.
