SYDNEY, Aug 20: Petroleum refiner and marketeer Caltex Australia Ltd said on Wednesday that the company is holding discussions with Pioneer International Ltd about the possible acquisition of Pioneer's 50 per cent interest in Australian Petroleum Pty Ltd (Ampol).

Caltex Australia chairman Malcolm Irving said it would be premature to speculate on the outcome of the discussions, which would continue for some time.

Caltex, which earlier reported a net profit for the half year to June 30 of A$11.27 million, holds pre-emptive rights over Pioneer's half-stake in the joint venture.

The half-year result for Caltex represented a sharp fall from the A$30.313 million posted for the same period last year.

The company is 75 per cent owned by Caltex Petroleum Corp, which is a joint venture between Texaco Inc and Chevron Corp.

Caltex, the owner of the remaining half share in Ampol, has first rights of refusal over the Pioneer stake.

"The (first half) results are a reflection of the difficult trading conditions being experienced by Australian Petroleum Pty Ltd and the petroleum industry in general and also the impact of interest rate swaps," Irving said in a statement.

The result was caused mainly by A$67 million in pre-tax stock losses due to lower crude oil prices, lower international refinery margins and a highly competitive retail market, Caltex said.

When stock losses in the current period and A$7.8 million in stock gains in the previous period were eliminated, Ampol's underlying operational performance improved by 4.1 per cent, it said.

Elsewhere, sales of surplus service stations and depots realised A$32 million.

Caltex said the business environment for Ampol was expected to remain very competitive for the immediate future.However, it said crude oil prices traditionally rose during the December quarter and this should offset some first half stock losses.Pioneer, whose main interest is in building products, said in February it was considering selling its Ampol stake and later confirmed that a number of local and international groups had expressed interest.Irving said in March that Caltex would examine Pioneer's stake, but said Caltex was comfortable with its current holding.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.