Aug 19 (Reuters) - Coty on Wednesday posted a surprise increase in fourth-quarter revenue on resilient demand for fragrances and cosmetics, and said fiscal 2027 ‌would be a "transition year" as it conducts a strategic review to ‌focus on its key brands.

The company is advancing its "Coty. Curated." strategy to simplify its business and conducting ​a review of the consumer beauty division, at a time when geopolitical conflicts and economic uncertainty have made customers tighten spending.

The review, expected to complete by year-end, could lead to the sale of brands such as CoverGirl and Rimmel.

The initiative, along with a ‌cost-reduction program, would help offset ⁠a likely sales hit in fiscal 2028 from its early return of Gucci Beauty license to Kering , and support profit growth from ⁠fiscal 2029, Coty said.

Coty's net revenue rose 1.3% to $1.27 billion in the quarter ended June 30, compared with analysts' average estimate of a 4.6% decline, according to data compiled ​by LSEG.

"Consumer ​demand for beauty remains resilient, with continued ​growth in fragrances and cosmetics, ‌although consumers are becoming increasingly selective in their purchasing decisions," the company said.

Coty said it saw a roughly 1% impact from the Middle East conflict, which was less severe than the 2% to 3% hit it forecast in May.

Quarterly adjusted loss per share narrowed to 2 cents from 5 cents a year ago, but was ‌wider than analysts' expectation of a 1-cent loss.

Peers ​Estee Lauder and Elf Beauty recently forecast a stronger ​year ahead on steady demand ​for beauty products.

Coty, which did not provide annual forecasts, expects like-for-like ‌revenue in the current quarter to ​decline by a low- ​to mid-single-digit percentage, compared with an 8% drop last year.

The company also forecast first-quarter adjusted earnings per share of 11 cents to 13 cents, slightly ​below analysts' estimates of 14 ‌cents.

Seperately on Wednesday, Coty said it appointed former British American Tobacco ​finance chief Soraya Benchikh as CFO, replacing Laurent Mercier.

(Reporting by Neil J ​Kanatt in Bengaluru; Editing by Leroy Leo)