* Q4 loss $2.81/shr vs year-earlier loss $0.30/shr

* Q4 loss ex-charges $0.59/shr vs Wall St loss $0.78 view

* Shares down 8.8 percent

CHICAGO, Oct 30 (Reuters) - Shares of Zale Corp (ZLC.N: Quote, Profile, Research) fell nearly 9 percent on Friday morning, the day after the jewelry store operator posted a much steeper quarterly loss, weighed down by falling sales and impairment charges.

The loss widened to $89.8 million, or $2.81 a share, in the fourth quarter ended July 31 from $10.0 million, or 30 cents a share, a year earlier, the company said late on Thursday. [ID:nWNAB7194]

Excluding one-time items such as the asset impairment charges, the loss was 59 cents a share. Analysts on average forecast a loss of 78 cents, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

The jewelry business has been one of the hardest hit sectors in the recession as consumers shy away from bigger-ticket discretionary purchases and use their diminishing resources for staples like food.

Zale has closed stores and liquidated some inventory to offset its troubles, steps that contributed to the large charges the company posted.

The company had delayed its earnings report as it reviewed and restated earnings for 2008 and part of 2009 to adjust for accounting of advertising costs, internal company payments, income taxes and other items.