Caltex Australia Ltd has released Thursday its unaudited first quarter profit which showed sales spikes of up to 33 percent or $130 million on a replacement cost of sales operating profit (RCOP) basis, as the oil company cautioned that its short term outlook is largely tentative at this stage.

In an AAP report, Caltex managing director Julian Segal told the company's annual general meeting that the figures released has yet to factor in the effects of rises and falls in oil prices, as he noted that the first quarter profit last year only reached $98 million.

He attributed this year's improved figures to Singapore's strong-weighted average margin for the first quarter of 2010, as he warned that reversals should be expected as Caltex is preparing for a more cautious outlook for refiner margins in the second half of the year.

Mr Segal admitted that Caltex's short term outlook has been challenging owing to depressed global demand and the sluggish growth in global refining capacity.

He is confident though that the oil refinery's medium and long term outlook are still headed to positive growths, as he added that Caltex is keeping its watch on cost control and efficient management of cash control and debt management.

Also, Caltex chairman Elizabeth Bryan informed their shareholders that new information should be released soon regarding Caltex's frozen proposal to purchase 302 Mobil service stations, which was disapproved by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) last December.

In the same AAP report, Ms Bryan assured the shareholders that Caltex is currently reviewing ACCC's decision and "Caltex is considering actions to be taken in light of ACCC's position on the proposed acquisition, and expects to be in a position to make a public announcement shortly."