Aug 24 (Reuters) - Miner South32 Ltd S32.AX on Thursday posted an eight-fold rise in its annual underlying earnings, helped by a broader recovery in metal prices, but narrowly missed analysts' expectations.
Fiscal 2017 underlying earnings increased to $1.15 billion from $138 million the previous year, which was weighed down by impairments, the Australia-based company said.
Analysts were expecting underlying earnings of around $1.18 billion.
"The combination of our high operating leverage and stronger commodity prices delivered a substantial increase in financial performance," Chief Executive Graham Kerr said in a statement.