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By Anuja Bharat Mistry

May 6 (Reuters) - Kraft Heinz Co KHC.O warned of higher inflationary pressures in 2026, partly due to the Middle East conflict, and said it expects to eliminate 400 roles outside North America through the year, according to an SEC filing on Wednesday.

Global consumer goods makers run the risk of a fragile demand recovery unraveling as rising fuel costs linked to the Middle East conflict fan inflationary pressures and push companies back toward price hikes.

However, Kraft Heinz's shares rose about 4% in early trading after the ketchup maker beat quarterly estimates, driven by early signs of progress from CEO Steve Cahillane's investment efforts to revive its U.S. sauces and condiments business, following his decision in February to suspend plans to split the company.

Kraft Heinz is increasing headcount throughout the organization, with a particular focus on marketing and sales teams, Cahillane said in the prepared remarks. It stuck to its annual targets, citing caution due to the macroeconomic environment.

In February, it said it would invest about $600 million in marketing and research to revive its U.S. business, which has taken a hit from muted spending. The move comes even as Cahillane remains in favor of preserving the option to split the company. The pause is expected to save $300 million in costs in 2026.

"This is a direct result of CEO Steve Cahillane looking to take advantage of scale and drive growth, his decision to not split the company has allowed them to retain that scale of operation and gain from the efficiencies drawn from that," said Brian Mulberry, chief market strategist at Zacks Investment Management.

Kraft Heinz reported quarterly sales of $6.05 billion, compared with an estimate of $5.89 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG.

Its adjusted earnings per share of 58 cents in the quarter ended March 28 beat an estimate of 50 cents per share.

However, quarterly adjusted operating income fell 11.8% from a year ago to $1.1 billion, dragged by higher advertising spend, inflationary pressures in manufacturing and logistics costs, separation-related expenses and higher restructuring costs.

Overall, quarterly prices were up 0.8 percentage points, while volumes were down 1.2 percentage points from a year ago. Kraft Heinz said it raised prices in some categories to mitigate the impact from higher input costs.

It continues to expect annual organic sales in the range of a 1.5% to 3.5% decline and adjusted earnings in the range of $1.98 to $2.10 per share.