Dutch food and cosmetics giant Unilever Tuesday posted a 5.0 percent fall in 2015 profits from the previous 12 months, saying it had been a "challenging year" amid the economic slowdown.

Turnover was up 10% to $53.3 billion thanks to increased volumes and a favourable exchange rate, but net profit attributable to shareholders was down to $4.91 billion, compared with $5.2 billion in 2014.