UPDATE 2-Thales warns on profits, sees H2 charges

* Drops plan to restore margin to normal level in H2

* Sees charges from aerospoace contract losses

* Downbeat on civil aerospace (Adds CFO quote, background)

By Tim Hepher and Matthias Blamont

PARIS, Nov 10 (Reuters) - French defence electronics company Thales (TCFP.PA) posted lower-than-expected third-quarter sales and issued a surprise profit warning for the second half as it braced for fresh charges due to struggling aerospace deals.

Thales, whose first half was hit by a 102 million euro charge against delays in the A400M military plane, predicted more charges later in the year and abandoned its quest for a 'normal' second-half margin after a steep drop at mid-year.

Finance Director Patrice Durand said the next batch of charges were not related to the A400M, an Airbus-led military transporter plane for which Thales is building the main flight computer system, but declined to say where the new problems lay.

He said the pain was being felt across several contracts.

Pressed by financial analysts on why Thales had failed to spot the new losses when it carried out a housecleaning exercise in June, Durand defended its record but declined to give any indication how deep the next batch of provisions might be.