Wilmar 2015 net profit falls to 8-year low, palm oil weighs

* Wilmar 2015 net profit falls 8.7 pct to $1.06 bln, below consensus

* Tropical oils unit's pre-tax profit slides

* Oilseeds and grains profit jumps on record soybean crush volume (Adds details, background)

By Rujun Shen and Tripti Kalro

SINGAPORE, Feb 18 (Reuters) - Wilmar International Ltd said on Thursday its annual net profit dropped 8.7 percent in 2015 to an eight-year low, weighed down by poor performance in its palm oil business.

The world's largest palm oil processor said its fourth quarter net profit fell 16 percent on the year, and reported a full-year net profit of $1.06 billion, slightly below the consensus of $1.16 billion based on forecasts of 17 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters.

Pre-tax profit in the company's tropical oils unit in the fourth quarter dropped 62 percent on the year, as lower crude palm oil prices more than offset improved production yields, the company said. The full-year profit dropped 44 percent.

Falling demand and compressed margins dented the profits for the downstream oil operations, which produce products including oleo-chemical and biodiesel from crude palm oil.

The pre-tax profit in the company's oilseeds and grains business rose 40 percent in the last quarter, driven by record soybean crushing volume and higher turnover in the consumer products business, helping nearly double the full-year profit.

The sugar division recorded a 49 percent increase in fourth-quarter pre-tax profit on the back of higher sugar prices and higher sales, though for the full year the profit fell 38 percent to $83.3 million.

Wilmar announced a final dividend of S$0.055 per share, same as a year earlier.

(Reporting by Rujun Shen and Tripti Kalro in Bangaluru; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)