RETAILER Kingfisher will decide whether to sell off or float its Superdrug and Woolworth's high-street chains in "the next few weeks".

The group, which announced a 16 per cent drop in full-year profits, unveiled plans to demerge its General Merchandise business, which includes the chains, last September.

Chief executive Sir Geoffrey Mulcahy said he wanted to focus on Kingfisher's electrical and DIY operations, which include B&Q and Comet.

Speculation that Kingfisher may instead sell Superdrug and Woolworth's had some City analysts forecasting a possible announcement yesterday.

Sir Geoffrey confirmed negotiations were ongoing with a potential buyer for Superdrug.

He said Kingfisher had made presentations to a number of venture capitalists interested in buying Woolworth's, now run by former Railtrack chief executive Gerald Corbett.

But plans for a demerger of the two, as well as the MVC music chain, were still progressing and on schedule for implementation in the second quarter of the financial year.

A decision on which course of action would create "overall better value" for shareholders would be taken in the next few weeks.

Both Woolworth's and Superdrug saw their retail profit tumble over the year to February 3, in line with analysts' expectations.

Woolworth's retail profit fell by 25 per cent, to £91m, while Superdrug's plunged to £35m, a drop of 15 per cent.

Both chains suffered from intense competition on the high street, Woolworth's in particular suffering from lower margins on a range of products.

The falls contributed to the 16 per cent fall in group profits, again forecast by the City.

Kingfisher's overall pre-tax profit, before exceptionals, slumped to £606m, compared with £721m the year before.

Turnover, however, was up to £12.1bn, an increase of 11.5 per cent, fuelled by strong sales at both B&Q and Comet, and the French electricals and furniture retailer BUT. B&Q boosted its share of the UK home improvement market by 1.1 per cent to 11.2 per cent, while higher sales at Comet pushed its profits up by 8.6 per cent.

Sir Geoffrey said most the group's businesses performed well and that it was an encouraging year despite the fall in profits.