Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer on Thursday said it posted a 36 percent decline in fourth-quarter profit, hurt by a series of charges, including one related to its pending sale to a Sony Pictures Entertainment-controlled investment group and one related to MGM’s expensing of employee stock options.

The company reported a profit of $38.5 million for the fourth quarter, down from a year-earlier profit of $60.3 million. Revenue for the quarter slipped 16 percent to $453.4 million, hurt by a decline in feature-film revenue.

For the year, MGM reported a narrowed loss of $29.2 million, versus red ink of $161.8 million a year ago. Revenue slipped 8 percent to $1.7 billion.

Though the film operations posted revenue declines, MGM’s television unit generated significant gains for the quarter and the year, rising 74 percent to nearly $80 million and 26 percent to $240.5 million, respectively.