UPDATE 2-Caltex sees pressure on margins, shares punished

(Recasts, adds details, CEO and analyst's comments)

By Fayen Wong

SYDNEY, Feb 22 (Reuters) - Caltex Australia Ltd (CTX.AX: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), the country's only listed oil refiner and marketer, missed expectations with 3 percent rise in year profit on weaker refiner margins, and said it saw more pressure on margins, sending its shares down nearly 9 percent.

Caltex said 2008 earnings would also be impacted supply issues resulting from planned and unplanned refinery shutdowns. It expects recent unplanned outages to cut earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) by between A$40-$50 million in 2008.

Caltex, which operates two refineries representing about 30 percent of Australian capacity, cut its final dividend to 33 Australian cents, down from 48 cents a year ago, due to rising costs.

"The results were pretty much in line but it's the company's outlook on refiner margins and costs that the market is worried about," said UBS oil and gas analyst Gordon Ramsay.

"The dividend is also pretty conservative and that reflects how the management is very careful with its cash flow due to rising costs."

Caltex said net profit after tax in 2007 was A$444 million ($407.3 million) on a replacement cost of sales basis, which removes the effect of oil price movements.

The result was slightly below expectations of A$449 million, the median in a poll of nine analysts by Reuters Estimates, but within Caltex's December forecast of A$435-A$460 million.