SAO PAULO, March 12 (Reuters) - Brazilian cosmetics maker Natura&Co posted a net loss for the fourth quarter of 2.7 billion reais ($542.27 million), compared with a loss of 890 million reais in the same period a year earlier.

The company said its bottom line suffered a hit of 1 billion reais from a discontinued business that it sold recently, in addition to a 664 million-reais impairment related to Avon.

Natura has been shedding global assets, including the sale of the Aesop and The Body Shop brands, as it turned its focus to Latin America, where it has been integrating the Avon and Natura brands.

The cosmetic group's net revenue fell 17.4% to 6.61 billion reais in the quarter.

"On the operational and financial side, we prioritize profitability and cash conversion rather than revenue growth," Natura CEO Fabio Barbosa said in a statement accompanying the results released late on Monday.

Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) stood at 670.1 million reais, up 31% from the same quarter in the previous year, while its adjusted EBITDA margin grew by 3.7 percentage points to 10.1%.

Analysts were expecting an adjusted EBITDA of 722.9 million reais.

Natura said last month it was looking at splitting its Avon brand outside Latin America, which could spawn a new listed firm managing the business outside the region.

Avon's U.S. business was never owned by Natura.

"Our balance sheet was strengthened as we used the proceeds from the sale of Aesop to pay off more than 7.6 billion reais in debts, ending the year with a strong net cash position of 1.7 billion reais," said Barbosa.

($1 = 4.9791 reais) (Reporting by Andre Romani and Peter Frontini; Editing by Kim Coghill)