Safeway says charges to write down the value of two of its supermarket chains drove it to post a loss for its fourth quarter.

The grocery chain reported a loss of $1.61 billion, or $4.06 per share, on Thursday. Safeway earned $338 million, or 79 cents per share, in the prior year.

When the charges tied to the value of its Vons and Eastern brands are excluded, the company earned 53 cents a share — in line with analyst estimates.

Safeway's business has improved recently as it lowered prices to draw more cost-concious shoppers. But those lower prices, along with tougher competition and limited spending by shoppers has hampered its profits.

Revenue fell more than 8 percent to $12.7 billion.