Caltex Australia Limited is Australia's leading oil refining and marketing company involved in the refining, distribution and marketing of fuels and lubricants in all states and territories.

    Caltex is also a significant competitor in the convenience retailing industry. The company has an ongoing program transforming its existing Caltex and Ampol locations from traditional service stations to sophisticated convenience stores and multi-retail sites with offerings such as car wash, fast food and ATMs.

    Caltex Australia Limited is the only petroleum refining and marketing company listed on the Australian Stock Exchange. Fifty percent of the shares in Caltex Australia are owned by around 25,500 shareholders, the majority of which are Australian. The balance is held by ChevronTexaco Global Energy Inc. Caltex Australia trades under two principal brands, Caltex and Ampol.

    The company owns and operates two fuels refineries, one at Kurnell in Sydney and the other at Lytton in Brisbane, with a combined capacity of 230,000 barrels per day (bpd). It also has a 3,750 bpd lubricating oil refinery at Kurnell.

    Caltex is a retail, wholesale and commercial marketer of petroleum products. Its national service station network includes approximately 1,800 Caltex and Ampol branded sites of which 643 sites are owned or leased by Caltex. The remaining sites are owned or leased and operated by franchisees, distributors and independent resellers.

    The expanding national convenience store network at the end of 2002 included 423 convenience stores - 175 Star Mart stores and 248 Star Shop stores. The network also includes two Star Supermarkets. Within the Caltex convenience store network there are 68 sites fully owned and operated by Calstores, the retail operating arm of Caltex.

    Caltex currently has 69 distributors that supply approximately 1,320 service stations and many small businesses particularly those located in rural areas such as farmers and smaller transport operators. Caltex owns or leases 124 depots that are licensed to distributors and are used for storage of petroleum products. Like its service station network, Caltex's distributor network includes Caltex and Ampol branded sites.

    In addition to an extensive retail network Caltex markets to commercial and industrial customers in the mining, industrial, aviation and transport sectors. The company also manufactures and markets specialty products such as bitumen, gases and waxes.

    Caltex employs directly about 2,638 people across Australia in a wide range of occupations. This includes employees working with Calstores and with 100% Caltex owned distributors.

    Our way forward

    The Australian oil refining industry has many challenges to maintain its place in an increasingly competitive global industry. Petroleum refining is part of the economic infrastructure of the nation and its products are used in every walk of life - farming, mining, manufacturing, transport and tourism.

    Caltex's vision is to be the Australian oil refining and marketing company most admired for its people, partnership and performance.

    Caltex's position as a public company with a high level of Australian ownership makes it unique in the industry. The vision is supported by a charter of values and strategic intents. Key aims include operational excellence through incident free operations cost management capital stewardship and strong and sustained profitability.

    There is also an emphasis on partnering with employees and other stakeholders and creating a workplace environment in which our people have pride and sense of belonging.

    Looking ahead, Caltex will continue to focus strongly on those areas within its control while we recognise that major areas outside our control - crude oil prices, refiner margins and exchange rate movements - may have a significant impact on financial results.

    Caltex aims to do everything it can to strengthen the viability of its refineries and be an essential player in the future of the Australian oil refining and marketing industry.

    Caltex remains a strong cash flow business and our strategy is to build up revenue streams that are not impacted by OPEC. Our key growth will be in non-fuel areas with an emphasis on making our service station sites work harder with clusters of retail partners in business alongside the convenience stores.