Colgate-Palmolive Co., the world's largest toothpaste maker, reported a 6 percent fall in quarterly profit, hurt by a stronger dollar.

The company's net profit fell to $564 million, or 60 cents per share, in the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, from $598 million, or 63 cents per share, a year earlier.

Excluding items, Colgate-Palmolive earned 75 cents per share.

The company's sales rose 2 percent to $4.36 billion. Organic sales, which strip out the impact of acquisitions, divestitures and foreign exchange, increased 6.5 percent.

Colgate-Palmolive said foreign exchange fluctuations hurt sales by 4.5 percent.