* Woolworths FY profit up 25%, comp store sales up 6.7 pct
* Massmart FY profit down 6 percent
* Both see slow economic recovery
By Tiisetso Motsoeneng
JOHANNESBURG, Aug 26 (Reuters) - Two of South Africa's largest retailers, Woolworths and Massmart, held out prospects of only a sluggish recovery in Africa's largest economy.
Woolworths, an upscale clothing and food retailer, posted a rise in full-year profit and comparable store sales on Thursday, but said economic headwinds were picking up.
"Economists are saying to us: 'The economy is going to grow, but (at) a slower pace'," Woolworths Chief Executive Officer Simon Susman said. "There is high unemployment, people just don't spend money."
Massmart reported a fall in full-year profit and echoed those sentiments.
"What we see is the consumer is spending more than they did last year," Massmart CEO Grant Pattison said. "But obviously job losses and all those things may be considered bad news for future profit growth."
Shares in both Massmart and Woolworths were down about 0.4 percent at 1200 GMT on Thursday in a rising Johannesburg market . They have gained more than 30 percent so far this year, on hopes that the soccer World Cup, tentative economic growth and low interest rates would give consumer spending a boost.
Those benefits have been tempered by high personal debt and job losses as the World Cup building boom winds down.
"It's warranted for some of these retailers to be cautiously optimistic," said one fund manager, who declined to be named.
"There are headwinds in the form of tough credit-granting laws, and the economy may be growing, but the growth is slower than what many had forecast."
Earlier in the week, Africa's largest grocer, Cape Town-based Shoprite, also expressed concerns about the effects of job losses, though it managed a strong rise in sales at its South African unit.
South Africa's economic growth slowed in the second quarter, having emerged from recession last year, and while retail sales rose for a sixth consecutive month in June, the increase was weaker than expected. (Editing by Marius Bosch and Will Waterman)