UPDATE 1-M'bishi Elec says demand better but lacks strength

* H1 beats company target, but posts first net loss in decade

* Says to lift cost cuts by 50 pct to 60 bln yen

* Says demand better from autos, flat panels, China

* Shares little changed, underperforms electrical subindex (Adds earnings results, background)

TOKYO, Oct 30 - Mitsubishi Electric Corp, one of the first Japanese firms to warn of weakening capital spending worldwide, said factory automation demand was shoring up in some areas but that it lacked strength.

Mitsubishi Electric and its rivals Siemens AG and Rockwell Automation Inc are waiting for a recovery in spending by manufacturers on robots, lasers, sensors and other equipment used to run their plants.

But the company, which reported its first first-half net loss in a decade, said that while there were "patches of recovery" -- such as in flat panel equipment or in China -- it was assuming that there would be no sudden recovery in consumer demand or in capital spending in the remaining months through March.

"Autos equipment sales were helped by incentives, but factory automation demand remains severe," Hiroki Yoshimatsu, an executive officer at Mitsubishi Electric, told reporters at a news conference. "Things are better in places, but this recovery lacks strength."

Mitsubishi Electric kept its annual outlook for a net loss of 20 billion yen unchanged, and below a consensus estimate of a 1.5 billion yen loss by 16 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

The company, known for its conservative estimates, said that to make that target, it has lifted its annual cost cut target to 60 billion yen from a previously planned 40 billion yen.

It said it tumbled to a net loss of 25.8 billion yen in the six months through September, down from a 79.4 billion yen profit a year earlier on a 19 percent fall in sales. Its operating income came to 15.6 billion yen, beating its earlier target to break even.

The firm was dragged down by a 38.9 billion yen loss on its joint chip venture with Hitachi Ltd, Renesas Technology Corp. Renesas is slated to merge with NEC Electronics in April.

Shares of Mitsubishi Electric were up 0.4 percent after the announcement, underperforming a 2 percent rise in Tokyo's electrical machinery sub-index. ($1=91.18 Yen)