Aug 27 (Reuters) - Australia's biggest supermarket operator Woolworths Group Ltd reported an 8.4% fall in annual profit on Thursday, as the closure of its hotels and pubs due to COVID-19 restrictions offset a strong performance at its supermarkets division.

Excluding one-time charges, the company's net profit after tax attributable to shareholders from continuing operations came in at A$1.60 billion ($1.16 billion), lower than the A$1.75 billion a year earlier.

Analysts on average had expected a profit of A$1.66 billion, according to IBES data from Refinitiv. ($1 = 1.3820 Australian dollars) (Reporting by Rashmi Ashok in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)