UPDATE 1-Australia Caltex says 2008 profit beats forecast

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PERTH, Jan 14 (Reuters) - Caltex Australia Ltd (CTX.AX), the country's only listed oil refiner and marketer, said its operating profit in 2008 had beat its previous forecast by as much as 37 percent, sending its shares up over 9 percent.

Unaudited operating profit for the year was A$185 million ($123 million), stripping out oil price volatility, exceeding a forecast range of A$135-A$155 million given last month, Caltex said in a statement.

A higher-than-forecast refiner margin -- what it pays for crude oil compared with the price it receives for the refined product -- and a stronger Australian dollar in December had contributed to the better result, though it was still well below the previous year's A$444 million.

Shares in Caltex, 50 percent-owned by Chevron Corp (CVX.N), were up 7.5 percent at A$8.04 by 0035 GMT, after touching a near one-week high of A$8.22.

Caltex said its historic cost net profit, which includes oil price fluctuations, has not yet been finalised pending determination of the net value of its inventory.

Caltex, which operates two refineries representing about 30 percent of Australian capacity, last month downgraded its historic cost net profit guidance to between a loss of A$40 million and a profit of A$10 million. ($1=A$1.50) (Reporting by Fayen Wong; Editing by James Thornhill)